Three individuals who allegedly took part in the death of a 22-year-old woman last April have been ordered to stand trial in her death.
According to a Los Angeles Times report, the three will head to court in the death of Brittany Killgore, whose nude body was discovered April 13, 2012 in Riverside County. Killgore, who was in the process of divorcing her Marine husband from Camp Pendleton, was allegedly murdered in Fallbrook, with her body then transported to where authorities found her.
During a recent preliminary hearing in Vista, a San Diego County Superior Court Judge handed down his ruling that former Staff Sgt. Louis Perez, 46, Dorothy Marie Maraglino, 37, and Jessica Lopez, 25, who have all pleaded not guilty, stand trial in Killgore's death. The trio resided in a residence in Fallbrook close to the apartment where Killgore lived.
According to Judge K. Michael Kirkman, there is sufficient evidence to have the three stand trial on charges of murder, kidnapping, torture, attempted sexual battery and conspiracy in the strangling death of Killgore.
The victim had allegedly gone out with Perez on a Friday evening, but was never heard from again. Killgore reportedly texted a friend the night she was out with Perez that she needed help. Her cell phone was later discovered in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, though authorities believe she never made it there.
According to evidence uncovered during the investigation into Killgore's death, Perez, Maraglino and Lopez were involved in "bondage, torture and master-servant-slave" behavior. Lopez was taken into custody in a San Diego motel last April 17 after reportedly trying to take her own life, while Perez was arrested two days earlier, this on suspicion of possessing a stolen assault rifle. He would later be charged with murder.
Prosecutors believe that Perez transported Killgore to his Fallbrook residence and then texted the two female defendants to join him. In the house, investigators discovered "sex apparatuses, toys, and a sex dungeon," according to a search warrant.
Perez and the victim's husband, Cpl. Cory Killgore, were both assigned to Camp Pendleton.
If all three are found guilty, what do you think their sentences should be?
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