Overview
- The 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office filed counts of first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body, two violations of a protection order, and domestic violence as a habitual offender.
- Annette Valdez, 37, was identified on Dec. 5 after her body was found in a trash can on Dec. 4 along the Tanglewood Trail in Westminster.
- An autopsy noted trauma to Valdez’s neck, though decomposition limited the ability to determine the extent of injuries.
- Perales was arrested Dec. 5 near W. 120th Avenue and I‑25 after a brief pursuit; an affidavit records him saying, “You know I killed my wife and paraded her around?”
- Investigators cite video of Perales removing Valdez’s Ring doorbell on Nov. 25, possible blood on her apartment staircase, and witnesses describing a wrapped body and statements about its location; court records detail prior domestic incidents and repeated protection‑order violations, with reports noting he was released on probation Nov. 21 and that Valdez was last heard from Nov. 28.