After four years of searching, the body of a lady from western Wisconsin was discovered this week in the state’s southeast.
On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Department of Justice revealed that the remains of Cassandra Ayon, 27, were discovered on private land near County Highway P and Abe Lincoln Road in Brighton, Marathon County.
“My heart goes out to Cassandra’s family and friends,” Attorney General Josh Kaul said. “Thank you to everyone who has worked to get justice and help provide answers in this appalling case.”
Ayon went missing on October 3, 2020, after leaving a friend’s residence in Unity, Wisconsin, about eight miles from where her body was discovered, about 3 a.m.
Her stepfather called the police the next day to report her missing after she did not return home. Friends also attempted to contact her, claiming she had arrangements with them.
According to the complaint, she told a coworker that her ex-boyfriend and the father of her two children, Mosinee resident Jesus Contreras-Perez, had remarked, “If she ever cheated on him, he knew where to hide Ayon’s body so that no one would ever find it.”
Despite not finding her body until recently, Contreras-Perez was sentenced to life in jail without the possibility of parole on September 12, 2022, in connection with Ayon’s disappearance.
Following a five-day trial in June, a jury convicted Contreras-Perez of first-degree intentional killing, concealing a corpse, stalking, and causing bodily damage.
“Although we were pleased with the trial’s outcome and felt that justice had been done on behalf of Cassandra Ayon, we never stopped looking for her,” Clark County District Attorney Melissa Inlow stated. “We hope that the discovery of her remains lends a sense of closure and finality to her family and everyone who misses and mourns her.”