Dave Teja dies; prosecuted serial killer Juan Corona

G. Dave Teja, a former Sutter County district attorney who helped prosecute the Juan Corona murder case nearly 40 years ago, died Saturday. He was 71.

Teja died of complications from six-way heart-bypass surgery he underwent last week, said his son, David Teja. The lifelong Sutter County resident had continued to practice law up until his death.

During his 20-year tenure in Sutter County's legal system, he served as public defender, municipal court judge and district attorney. But many remember him as the district attorney who helped prosecute Corona, a farm labor contractor who was convicted in 1973 of murdering 25 transient farmworkers and burying them in orchards north of Yuba City.

"He was very proud of his involvement," David Teja said of his father's role in the Corona murder trial.

Dave Teja was only 35 when the task of prosecuting Corona arose. Determined for a conviction and convinced they had a solid case, the district attorney and other detectives and personnel from other jurisdictions pulled together a mountain of witnesses and evidence that finally resulted in convincing a Solano County jury of Corona's guilt.

"It's probably the thing I'm proudest of in my career," Teja said, recalling the case earlier this year.

Teja was well-respected in the legal community, said Sutter County District Attorney Carl Adams.

His legacy will likely be as a prosecutor in the Corona murders, which Adams also worked on, taking office just a few months after the start of the second trial. But Teja's impact on the community is much broader than that one prolific case, Adams said.

"He was more than an elected official doing an elected official's job," Adams said. "He was involved in the community in many different ways."

Adams recalled giving a speech on Corona to the Yuba Sutter Bar Association just a few months ago. Teja was in the audience and he pointed out a few corrections on details he remembered more clearly.

"He was just a good man," Adams said. "As an attorney, as a judge, as a former D.A. and as someone I dealt with in the private bar, he was always someone I enjoyed seeing."

Former Sutter County Sheriff Roy Whiteaker first worked with Teja as an officer with the Yuba City Police Department, starting a friendship that would continue over the decades. In 1971, they worked together uncovering the most grisly details of the Corona murders. "We were close in every aspect of it," he said. "We remained in constant contact."

But that case is not how Whiteaker will remember Teja.

"I think he made his legacy through his life as being a friend to many and a dedicated, devoted peace officer," he said.

Law enforcement was Teja's passion. As district attorney he would go out on cases with officers and detectives, even following them to raids.

"That was just his big love," Whiteaker said. "He just enjoyed himself, enjoyed doing everything, and everybody enjoyed having him around."

Ullrey Memorial Chapel will handle funeral arrangements.