Mark Beverly Shields was 56 when he was murdered on April 28, 1971, in Sutter County, California. Born July 15, 1914, in Santa Rosa, he is listed among a group of predominantly male laborers whose bodies were found buried in shallow graves across orchards in the Yuba City area.

Authorities linked Shields’ death to Juan Vallejo Corona, a labor contractor who was arrested at his home in Yuba City after multiple bodies were discovered. Corona was later convicted on multiple counts of first-degree murder and received concurrent life sentences.

Shields was a World War II veteran; the case highlights both the brutality of the killings and the particular vulnerability of transient laborers at that time. Does anyone have memories of Shields, his family, or work in the area that could add context to his life before 1971?