NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office said that a man whose body was found in a creek last month appears to have been a homicide victim.
The victim has been identified as 37-year-old Michael Castillo Perea of Willows, according to Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones.
Perea’s body was found in shallow water in Stony Creek on the evening of April 12, by three Hamilton City teenagers who had gone swimming, Jones said.
Sheriff’s deputies responded, confirmed the find and detectives from the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit positively identified the remains as those of Perea, who Jones said was well known to Hamilton City residents.
As a result of an autopsy conducted on April 18, the case was classified as a homicide, Jones said. The final cause of death is pending toxicology testing results.
Jones said the investigation has been ongoing, and it has yet to be determined if Perea was killed at the location he was found or if he was killed at another location and his body dumped in Stony Creek. A motive has yet to be established.
The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with any information regarding this case to contact Sheriff’s Detective Greg Felton at 707-934-6431 or 707-934-6720.