A Tehama County man has been given a life sentence for shooting a woman to death and then burning his victim along with the home where the murder was committed. In December of 2024, Cal Fire crews battled a house fire on Kraft Avenue in the Corning area. 40-year-old Raquel Luz Hernandez was found dead inside the house. An autopsy showed that Hernandez had been shot in the back prior to the fire, and a Cal Fire investigation showed that gasoline had been used in starting the fire. Detectives then learned that 27-year-old Carlos Alberto Perez had previously dated Hernandez and had been stalking her for several months. Perez was arrested soon after, in possession of an un-serialized ghost gun believed to have been the murder weapon. After pleading guilty to second degree murder with a special allegation, Perez has been sentenced to 35 years to life in state prison.
-Steve Gibson