Jurors prepare to hear closing arguments in Daniel Perez murder case

Jurors this week are expected to deliver a verdict in the trial of Daniel Perez, a purported seer accused of sexually abusing his followers’ young daughters and of carrying out an elaborate plan to gain access to huge life insurance payouts – including in the death of a woman he is accused of murdering.

The trial resumes Tuesday in Sedgwick County District Court. Jurors were ordered to return at 9 a.m. to the courtroom of District Judge Joseph Bribiesca to hear juror instructions and closing arguments. The trial is in its third week.

Perez, 55, is charged with 37 counts, including rape, sodomy, aggravated assault, sexual exploitation of a child, criminal threat and directing false information be put on car credit and life insurance applications. He also is charged with first-degree premeditated murder in the 2003 drowning of Patricia Hughes, a 26-year-old wife and mother whose death for years was thought to be accidental.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Testimony began Feb. 4. During the trial, jurors have heard from multiple women who say they were coerced into sexual encounters with Perez, who went by the name Lou Castro, when they were too young to consent under the law.

The youngest who took the stand, a 23-year-old woman, described how, starting at age 10, she slept in Perez’s bed and endured a variety of sexual activities with him, many forced, because she was led to believe he was a centuries old, angel-like being who needed to “feed” off of prepubescent girls to survive.

Another woman described submitting to intercourse with Perez and rapes out of fear for her life and the lives of loved ones. Now 30, the woman testified that as a 17-year-old, she and a sister seven years younger met Perez when her mother relocated to Wichita – and eventually to a 20-acre property north of Kechi known as Angels Landing – to be near him.

Jurors also have heard testimony about millions of dollars in life insurance policies sold to people associated with Perez who later died – but not before naming others in his communal family as beneficiaries. The witnesses said it was all to Perez’s benefit and allegedly at his direction.

Testimony also came from a representative from a west Wichita car dealership who sold more than $1 million in vehicles to the traveling communal family – many luxury or sports cars driven by Perez – over a three-year period while the group stayed in and around Wichita. Witnesses say Perez picked the vehicles, colors and options but didn’t put his name on any paperwork.

Murder charge

But the crux of the case, and perhaps the most difficult allegation to prove, centers around Hughes, who prosecutors say was murdered by Perez in the outdoor pool of his large compound in an effort to continue funding a lavish lifestyle with $1.24 million paid out from her life insurance policy.

The state’s key witness, the same woman who testified Perez started having sex with her at age 10, told jurors that at age 11, she agreed to help stage Hughes’ death at Perez’s request. The woman testified Perez and Hughes sat down with her one day before the drowning, explained that it was “Trish’s time to go” and gave her a prepared story to tell authorities when she called 911.

The story, recounted in court, was that the girl, Hughes and Hughes’ toddler daughter were cleaning the pool on June 26, 2003, when the toddler fell into the water and Hughes slipped and knocked herself unconscious, drowning in a desperate attempt to rescue her daughter.

The woman testified that in reality, she and the toddler waited in a nearby building while Perez and Hughes went to the pool that day. She told jurors she heard a scream and a splash, then saw Perez out of breath and with wet forearms before he drove to a west Wichita car dealership to secure an alibi.

According to testimony, Perez told the 11-year-old to wait about 20 minutes before jumping in the pool with the toddler and calling 911.

She told the story to law enforcement officials after Perez was arrested on federal charges in Tennessee in 2010.

A forensic pathologist testifying as an expert witness for the state told jurors last week that Hughes’ injuries were consistent with someone gripping the top of her head and pushing her in the water. Kris Sperry also said small bruises on Hughes’ body were inconsistent with the story that Hughes slipped and knocked herself unconscious before drowning.

In what many considered a surprising move, Perez on Thursday testified in his own defense. He denied all allegations of wrongdoing and maintained that Hughes’ death was no more than an unfortunate accident.

In his testimony, Perez waved off statements that he told his followers he was a “seer” with foretelling abilities, calling the term a turn of phrase that became associated with him because he would say “Do you see what I’m saying?” a lot.

Asked by Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett whether he ever claimed to be centuries old, Perez said he would say “I smell like I’m 150 years old” because he spent time around horses.

Questioned about the alleged rapes, Perez testified that a genital injury prevented him from having sex with uncooperative partners and said that all of his partners were of legal age.

Perez also said he had memory loss suffered after a severe beating in Texas in 1997 led to his identity as Lou Castro. He testified that Hughes gave him the name, even though she knew him as Danny Perez, and that he didn’t learn his real name until after his 2010 arrest.

To questions about his past, Perez in his testimony often answered “I don’t know” or would give a response couched with “so I’ve been told.”

Defense attorney Alice Osburn moved for a mistrial three times during the trial. One juror was dismissed from service after the first week for medical reasons. Both prosecutors and the defense rested their cases Thursday.

Jurors are expected to begin deliberations Tuesday. Prosecutors could drop some of the charges against Perez, including several alternative counts, before turning over the case to the jury.

This story was originally published February 16, 2015 at 7:54 PM with the headline "Jurors prepare to hear closing arguments in Daniel Perez murder case."