D.A. Won’t Prosecute Man in Wife’s Slaying

The husband of a woman whose burning body was found this week in a backyard near Compton will not be prosecuted, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said Friday.

Ted Perez, 30, of Rowland Heights was arrested Wednesday after the body of his wife, Rachel Perez, 29, was found. The victim’s daughter, Quiana Marie Cortinez, had been set afire. She remains in critical condition at County-USC Medical Center.

Also arrested were Glynnis McKinney, 26, alleged to be Ted Perez’s lover, and two teen-age girls. McKinney and the girls, ages 16 and 17, have been charged with murder and attempted murder, the district attorney’s office said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Kurt Sifert said there was not a strong enough case against Perez to warrant prosecution and he has been freed.

Prosecutors said they believe Quiana was set on fire in an attempt to eliminate the only witness to her mother’s murder.

Prosecutors will attempt to have the two teen-agers, alleged to have helped in the attacks on both Quiana and her mother, tried as adults, a district attorney’s spokesman said.