Letter To Investigators Reopens 2017 NW OKC Murder Case, Suspect Identified

An Oklahoma City metro family has answers nearly five years after their loved one's murder.

Oklahoma City police filed an arrest warrant this week for 22-year-old Bryan Trochez. Trochez is wanted in connection with the 2017 murder of 19-year-old Wilson Perez.

The cold case was reopened after investigators received a letter from someone who claimed to be friends with both the victim and Trochez.

The witness who wrote investigators the letter that revealed the suspect told police he confessed shortly after the murder but threatened the witness. He said that was why he did not come forward earlier.

The victim’s family spoke to News 9 in 2017.

“I’m hoping they can find out what happened to him and find the person that did this,” said Carrie Perez, the victim’s aunt. “Hopefully, pay for what they did.”

Perez’s family called police after they found his body at Harlow Park near Northwest 19th and Meridian Avenue. Perez told News 9 at the time her nephew met with a friend and a woman at the park the night before.

“Someone had found his keys over here in the park, and they took them to his house,” Perez said. “That’s when they started calling around trying to locate him.”

According to new court documents, Perez's friends were interviewed by investigators and mentioned Trochez. They said he was angry Perez was dating his ex-girlfriend.

However, Trochez was never questioned, and the case went cold.

Five years later, investigators received a letter from someone who was friends with both the victim and the suspect. The witness claimed Trochez used a woman to lure Perez to the park. That was the location where the suspect allegedly strangled and beat the victim to death with a shovel. 

Trochez is wanted for first-degree murder but has not been arrested.

“No matter what he did, he didn’t deserve to die this way,” Perez said.

The arrest warrant stated Perez’s phone records were never analyzed following his death. Cold case investigators found the phone was used after the murder, near the suspect’s home.