On the night of October 25, 2011, 34-year-old Hispanic male Juan Herrera was found brutally murdered in his family's home in Yorba Linda, California. He had been stabbed more than 60 times and left in a hallway. His 53-year-old mother, Raquel Estrada, was also found dead in the kitchen, having suffered over 30 stab wounds. The initial investigation led authorities to arrest Juan Herrera's younger brother, 24-year-old Eder Giovanni Herrera, who was living in the home at the time.
Eder Herrera was charged with two counts of murder and held on $2 million bail.
Authorities initially believed Eder Herrera was responsible due to circumstantial evidence, including a 911 call made from a nearby payphone and surveillance footage showing someone resembling him near the scene. A witness also claimed to have seen a person believed to be Eder dragging something into the house. Blood evidence suggested that 34-year-old Hispanic male Juan Herrera may have tried to escape before being dragged back inside.
However, in early 2012, the case took a dramatic turn. Prosecutors dropped all charges against Eder Herrera after new evidence linked another suspect to the killings. DNA evidence and a confession pointed to 23-year-old Itzcoatl “Izzy” Ocampo, a former Marine who was already in custody for the serial killings of four homeless men in Orange County. Authorities revealed that Ocampo had known the Herrera family and had once been close friends with Eder. Investigators believed that Ocampo targeted the family as part of a personal vendetta following a falling out with Eder.
Ocampo's confession and forensic evidence, including DNA found on his boots, tied him directly to the crime scene. He admitted to killing both Raquel Estrada and 34-year-old Hispanic male Juan Herrera. Prosecutors described the murders as particularly chilling, noting that they occurred just two months before Ocampo began his spree of homeless killings.
In 2013, before he could be tried for the murders, Ocampo died in jail after ingesting a cleaning product. The City of Brea, which provided police services to Yorba Linda, later agreed to pay $700,000 to Eder Herrera in a settlement after he filed a federal lawsuit for wrongful arrest and imprisonment. Despite the resolution, the case left a lasting impact on the surviving family members and the community, highlighting the devastating consequences of mistaken identity and the horrors inflicted by a serial killer.
