WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT Thomas Perales has been charged with first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human corpse, domestic violence as a habitual offender, and two charges of violating a protection order
A man in Colorado is accused of murdering the mother of his children, carting her body around in a shopping trolley for days before dumping her remains in a rubbish bin.
The 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Colorado has charged Thomas Perales, 38, with first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body, domestic violence as a habitual offender, and two counts of violating a protection order.
On December 4, the Westminster Police Department announced it was investigating a “suspicious” death near Willowbrook Park in Westminster, a suburb north of Denver. Authorities later identified the victim as 37 year old Annette Valdez and are treating her death as a homicide.
Local media outlets, including CBS station KMVT, reported that Valdez’s body was found in a park rubbish bin. It’s believed she had been dead for up to six days before her body was discovered. Perales, reportedly the last person seen with her, was arrested by police on December 5. The defendant is the father of Valdez’s children and her former partner.
The body was discovered after Perales, who is homeless, told a witness he had been “pushing her around in a shopping cart to get her from place to place” before leaving her near a creek. After being arrested, the defendant allegedly confessed to authorities that he had killed Valdez and then “paraded her around.”, reports the Mirror US.
The cause of the victim’s death remains a mystery. The brother of Valdez, Adam Larson, disclosed that his sister had suffered years of abuse at home.
“We tried so much to get her away from him, and every single time she went right back to him,” he shared with KMVT. “All she could say is, ‘That’s my kid’s father.’”
“I had a feeling it was him,” Larson added. According to authorities, the latest domestic violence investigation began when Valdez reached out to her mum while observing Perales through a Ring camera.
Reports suggest that the accused damaged the door, smeared paint on the camera, and attempted to break into her flat. Perales had just been released from prison on November 21, and Valdez’s family felt that the system had let them down and that her death could have been prevented.
“She didn’t have the resources that she needed to be able to feel that safety,” Analisa Larson, wife of Adam Larson, told local Fox affiliate KDVR. “I think they hand you a piece of paper and say, ‘here is a protection order’ … well what do you do with that when he keeps coming back?”
According to a GoFundMe page, Valdez was “a beloved daughter, sister, mother, and friend, taken from us far too soon due to domestic violence.”
