A Provo man is accused of strangling a neighbor and dousing her body in drain cleaner and antifreeze just one day before he stabbed another neighbor — and both crimes occurred only weeks after he was released from prison, prosecutors say.
Jerad Dale Gourdin, 34, on Monday was charged with aggravated murder in the death of 60-year-old Belen Perez, who was found by her adult son in their Provo home more than four years ago.
Perez was found strangled with a stereo power cord around her neck on May 21, 2014, prosecutors wrote. An iPod and $350 had been taken from her purse, and various household chemicals had been poured on her body, most of it on her chest, neck and head, according to charging documents.
Forensic scientists reported that the mix of chemicals — especially the bleach-based drain cleaner — was "the perfect substance" to eliminate DNA evidence, prosecutors wrote.
Investigators said they begin focusing on Gourdin early on, and he was interviewed several times after Perez's death, prosecutors wrote.
His girlfriend said that on the afternoon of the homicide, Gourdin returned to their home — two doors east of Perez's home — and got into the shower with his clothes on, according to charging documents. He stayed in the shower 45 minutes, even though he said he was only washing his face, the girlfriend allegedly told police. She said that later, as police arrived at Perez's house, Gourdin "was acting strangely, changing his clothes multiple times and standing on the bed to watch the police activity out of the window," prosecutors wrote.
Gourdin was new to the neighborhood, near 2000 West and 500 North, prosecutors wrote; he was released from prison about a month earlier, following a drug conviction in 2013. On the morning of Perez's death, Gourdin had gone to several neighbors' homes, trying to get work doing odd jobs and asking to borrow equipment so he could do yard work, prosecutors wrote.
After speaking with neighbors, police identified Gourdin as a "person of interest." Over the course of multiple interviews, prosecutors wrote, Gourdin changed his story as to how much contact he'd had with Perez when he sought work at her house, according to prosecutors.
But further evidence didn't materialize until a year or so after Perez's death, while Gourdin was back in prison for assaulting another neighbor, said prosecutor Lance Bastian. A day after Perez died, Gourdin fought with a neighbor across the street over money and took the neighbor's dog as "ransom," according to court documents in that case. When the neighbor tried to get the dog back, Gourdin stabbed him in the back with a screwdriver. The neighbor survived, and a jury convicted Gourdin of third-degree felony aggravated assault.
While Gourdin was serving his sentence, prosecutors wrote, he tried to join a prison gang that "required a killing" for initiation. Gourdin asked another prisoner "if a previous incident could satisfy that requirement," prosecutors wrote.
As a result of that discussion, the other prisoner learned details about Perez's death that were not publicly known and could only have come from Gourdin, Bastian said in an interview Monday — but he would not disclose what those details were.
Charges waited a couple of years more while investigators followed other leads and awaited forensic evidence, Bastian said; because Gourdin was imprisoned for the screwdriver stabbing, he posed no threat to the public.
"It was never considered a cold case," said Provo police Sgt. Nisha King. "We have been actively investigating and following up on every lead as tips from the community came in."
In addition to the prior assault and drug charges, Gourdin pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in 2008, simple assault in a 2007 domestic violence case, felony theft, attempted burglary, drug possession and failing to stop at officers' command in 2005, as well as several misdemeanors.
If convicted of aggravated murder, Gourdin could be sentenced to up to life in prison, and prosecutors have at least 60 days to seek the death penalty.
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