Clarence Hocking, 53, was one of the victims in the series of killings in Sutter County later tied to Juan Vallejo Corona. Court records charge Hocking’s murder as having occurred sometime between February 26 and May 12, 1971; his remains were recovered on May 27, 1971, during the intensive search of orchards and river-bottom land near Yuba City that ultimately uncovered 25 murdered men.

The victims shared strikingly similar injuries and burial positions: hacking or chopping wounds to the head, stab wounds to the upper left chest, and burials with clothing pulled over the heads and arms positioned above or across the bodies. Forensic evidence linked Corona to multiple victims, including hair on a post-hole digger that microscopic comparison showed was similar to Hocking’s and others, with some follicles indicating forcible removal. Hocking was listed as Count XIII in the 25-count indictment against Corona; the jury convicted Corona of first-degree murder on all counts in January 1973 and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Anyone with memories of Hocking, his work or the orchards around Yuba City in 1971 is asked to come forward with information.