A man convicted in a 31-year-old Lompoc killing reportedly died in prison several weeks ago, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Victor Castillo Perea, 71, died March 3 of natural causes at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, CDCR’s Dana Simas said.
His death brings relief for the family of Perea’s victim after years of fighting against his release on parole.
Perea has been incarcerated since his 1989 conviction for the killing of Harold “Skeeter” Lyerla, who was found stabbed to death in his Lompoc home in November 1988.
Lyerla, who grew up in Santa Barbara, later married Cynthia Knox. They settled in Lompoc and had a daughter.
But the married woman allegedly had an affair with an Agoura Hills investor and rancher, John Litchfield, leading to the accusations that he, or they, hired Perea to kill Lyerla, according to a 2017 story in the Houston Chronicle.
Perea reportedly worked for Litchfield and lived in a house on his property until the day of the killing, the newspaper reported.
Evidence included the discovery of the defendant’s fingerprint at the murder scene, the Chronicle reported. Authorities don’t believe that Perea knew Lyerla.
Perea initially denied he had been hired to kill Lyerla but later admitted it during a previous parole hearing.
In December 2018, Lyerla’s relatives, including niece Tamera Lyerla, fought to keep the inmate in state prison, attending his fourth parole suitability hearing at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione southeast of Sacramento.
He was denied parole for another three years, according to the CDCR website. However, he had the option of petitioning for another hearing sooner, a step he had taken twice before.
Tamara Lyerla said the family had braced for another release hearing this summer and had been warned he most likely would be freed. Instead, they learned that Perea had died and that they wouldn’t have to attend any further parole suitability hearings for him.
“It was really good news. I was elated. I think my mother felt the same way,” Tamara Lyerla said. “We were just so relieved. It’s over now.”
Some lingering frustration remains, however. Perea never revealed whether the victim’s ex-wife played a role in the murder-for-hire case.
Knox, who wound up disappearing for years, was arrested for identity theft and other charges seemingly unrelated to the Lompoc homicide.
Living under a false identity, Lyerla’s widow, Knox, worked as a dinner cruise ship captain in Galveston along with her partner, Litchfield. He died in 2018.
After reaching a plea deal in the identity theft case, Knox served time in federal prison and was released at the beginning of this year.
With its many twists and turns, the case sparked several news articles after Knox’s arrest, and has been the focus of television magazine shows including “20/20 Homicide on ID: A Trail of Death.”
Lompoc police have said they still consider Lyerla’s murder an active case.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.