Alleged Serial Killer to Stand Trial

By City News Service

A Perris man was ordered to stand trial for the apparently unprovoked, random stabbing deaths of a man who was attacked while walking his dog and a mother and daughter targeted while taking a stroll about a month later.

David Rey Contreras, 27, could face the death penalty if convicted of murdering 53-year-old Jose Apreza, as well as 51-year-old Maria Gonzalez and her 25-year-old daughter, Consuelo “Connie” Gonzalez.

Following a preliminary hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Monterosso found there was sufficient evidence to hold the defendant to answer to three counts of first- degree murder and special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and taking multiple lives in the same crime.

Contreras, who is due back in court on July 24 for arraignment, is being held without bail at the Southwest Detention Center.

“This case came about thanks to outstanding police work,” Deputy District Attorney Dan DeLimon told City News Service. “From the deputy in the field to the forensic team -- they did a great job unraveling this one.”

DeLimon said there was no readily identifiable motive behind the attacks. Testimony from the preliminary hearing indicated Contreras was “going out, walking the streets, seeking innocent people to kill,” possibly for the thrill, the prosecutor alleged.

The first deadly assault occurred on Dec. 29, 2012, in the area of Evans Road and Orange Avenue in Perris. Apreza had gone out that morning to walk his pit bull and was reported missing by his wife when he didn’t return within a few hours.

One of the deputies who took part in a search for the missing man that afternoon spotted a body in an open field with a dog standing nearby. When the deputy approached, the pit bull lunged at him, prompting the lawman to shoot and kill the animal.

Apreza had been stabbed multiple times.

“Evidence shows he had knife wounds all over his torso, in his back and in one of his thighs,” DeLimon said, adding that it’s likely the victim’s dog was roaming free and not nearby when his owner was attacked.

On the evening of Feb. 4, 2013, Maria Gonzalez and her daughter left their Nuevo home to take a stroll along Central Avenue and a short time later were confronted by a man, who attacked them both with a knife.

Deputies arrived within minutes and found the victims lying on a sidewalk between Ramona and Rosary avenues.

Connie Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene. Her mother was transported to Menifee Valley Medical Center, where she died less than an hour later.

Witnesses reported seeing a young man in dark clothing fleeing the area and provided specific identifying details that proved pivotal to the investigation, according to DeLimon.

“There were quite a few people who got a glimpse of what happened,” the prosecutor told CNS. “They gave a good description of the assailant’s dimensions, his clothing and the fact he was wearing a type of back brace you might see on a construction worker.”

A week later, a deputy parked on Central saw an individual adorned in the exact same articles -- including the brace -- walking toward him. He detained the man, who turned out to be Contreras, DeLimon said.

The defendant was arrested for carrying a concealed knife, which he’d hidden inside the brace. He was jailed on a felony weapon allegation and spent several months behind bars until his attorney offered a plea deal directly to the court, resulting in a sentence of probation.

“The state Department of Justice was testing blood stains found on the defendant’s shoes and other evidence, including a dog leash that had apparently belonged to Mr. Apreza but was found in the defendant’s possession,” DeLimon said. “This all took quite a bit of time.”

Contreras was re-arrested without incident on Aug. 7, 2013, at his family’s home in the 2200 block of Wilson Avenue.