An inmate at the Utah State Prison has been convicted of the 2014 murder of a Provo woman who was strangled with a stereo power cord.
A jury deliberated for about six hours before finding Jerad Dale Gourdin, 35, guilty of aggravated murder in the death of his neighbor, 60-year-old Belen Perez. Her body was discovered on May 21, 2014. Various household chemicals — including drain cleaner and antifreeze — had been poured on her in an apparent attempt to destroy DNA evidence, and an iPod and $350 had been stolen from her purse.
After a drug conviction in 2013, Gourdin had been released from prison about a month before the murder. The day after the murder, he stabbed a neighbor in the back with a screwdriver — the man survived — and Gourdin was sent back to prison.
According to police, Gourdin wanted to be initiated into a prison gang and “knowing it required a killing,” he asked if a previous murder — the killing of Perez — “would satisfy that requirement.”
“Provo Police detectives conducted an incredible investigation to put the facts of this case together,” Deputy County Attorney Lance Bastia said in a news release.
Gourdin’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2020; he faces up to 25 years to life without the possibility of parole.
“Utah County is much safer without Gourdin in our community,” Utah County Attorney David O. Leavitt said. “I’m proud of the excellent trial work of my deputy county attorneys to put a solid case before the jury and have them return a guilty verdict.”
