Jury finds Peraltos
guilty of murder
A prosecutor says the crime was so
By Trish Moore
heinous they face life in prison
Star-BulletinLIHUE -- Monica Alves Peralto and Mitchell Peralto were convicted this morning of second-degree murder and kidnapping for the July 11 death of Kimberly Washington Cohen. The heinous and cruel nature of the crime will give them a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole, said William Feldhacker, deputy county prosecutor.
The jury convicted the pair after about five hours of deliberation. As the jury convicted Peralto first, Monica Alves Peralto burst into sobs.
"I've been waiting for this moment a long time. I know it won't bring her back but I'm happy," said Theresa Wery, the victim's mother.
"I have her two kids I can take care of," said Wery, adding that she will adopt two of Washington Cohen's three children, the 4- and 5-year-old. The third child, a 6-year-old, is in the care of Washington Cohen's grandmother.
Wery, born and raised on Kauai, said she plans to sell her house and move to the mainland. "It's too painful here now."
Sentencing for the pair was set for April 16 before Judge George Masuoka.
"We won but we're still losers. The only people who win is the people because they won't have to have these people on the streets agoin," said Richard Burrell, Washington Cohen's brother.
The trial has raised questions about why four adults never intervened as they watched the Kauai couple beat, bind and gag Washington Cohen, 23, and drive off with her in their car on July 11.
Witnesses testified watching Monica Alves Peralto and Mitchell Peralto bind the arms, ankles and breasts of Kimberly Washington Cohen, gag her mouth so tightly "her face was deformed," tape a blanket over her head and torso, and dump her struggling body into the back seat of a car and drive away.
The owner of the house called police when she returned home and heard what happened, about 45 minutes after the couple drove off with the victim, the witnesses said.
Alves Peralto tried to seal Washington Cohen's lips shut with a fingernail epoxy, telling her, "You're never going to be able to talk again," witness Kaycee Lele had testified.
Washington Cohen's body was found the next day in a shallow grave less than a mile from the Wailua Houselots three-bedroom home where she was beaten and gagged.
