FRENCH VALLEY: Three guilty of murdering Marine, wife

June 05, 2013 02:21 PM PDT June 05, 2013 08:36 PM PDT FRENCH VALLEY: Three guilty of murdering Marine, wife FRENCH VALLEY: Three guilty of murdering Marine, wife KURT MILLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Kevin Cox looks back to the gallery as he awaits for his verdict in Dept. 43, Riverside Superior Court on Wednesday June 5, 2013. Kevin Cox, one of three Marines on trial for murder in the 2008 slayings of a Marine sergeant and his wife in French Valley. 1 WEBLINK WINCHESTER: Marine, wife shot to death (Oct. 18, 2008) Three former U.S. Marines were found guilty of murder Wednesday, June 5, in the 2008 slayings of a couple in their French Valley home. Kevin Cox, 25; Tyrone Miller, 25; and Emrys John, 23; were convicted of two counts of murder and allegations of burglary and robbery in the shootings of Marine Corps Sgt. Jan Pietrzak, 24, and his wife, Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak, 26.  The mothers of the victims cried and embraced as Judge Christian Thierbach read the verdicts Wednesday afternoon against Cox. Two hours later, they were back in court, clasping hands and breathing tearful sighs of relief as more guilty verdicts were read against Miller and John. John also was found to have been the shooter. An allegation of murder in the commission of sexual assault was found true for Miller and untrue for John and Cox. Testimony in the trial began in April. Two juries heard the case against the three defendants. Cox's jury reached verdicts Monday after about a day's deliberation, but their decisions were not read until Wednesday. The jury deciding the fates of Miller and John reached verdicts late Wednesday, also after about a day's deliberation. The same jurors now will be asked to recommend whether the defendants should receive the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. That phase of the trial is expected to begin Monday. A fourth defendant, Kesaun Sykes, 26, will be tried separately on the same charges. His next court date is scheduled for August. The families of the victims declined to comment Wednesday. The Pietrzaks were newlyweds and had been living in their Bermuda Street house for only a few months when a group of Camp Pendleton Marines armed with guns came to their door in the wee hours of Oct. 15, 2008, prosecutors have said. Several hours later, the couple's bodies were found in their ransacked home with gunshot wounds to their heads. Jenkins-Pietrzak was naked, bound and had been sexually assaulted. Her husband had been beaten and hog-tied. There were racial slurs — intended to mislead investigators into thinking the killings were racially motivated — spray-painted throughout the home and someone had set small fires inside in an attempt to burn down the house, prosecutors said. Prosecutor Daniel DeLimon said the couple's ordeal might have lasted up to 1½ hours. Prosecutors said that John shot the couple, execution style, after Miller handed him a gun and instructed him to "do them." Cox, John and Miller all worked with Pietrzak — a helicopter mechanic — at one time while stationed at Camp Pendleton. Though authorities previously cited robbery as the motive for the killings, DeLimon told jurors in his closing arguments that the defendants also committed crimes because they enjoyed http://attorney-in-murrieta.com/more-information/workers-compensation/ it. DeLimon said the men had been leading double lives: "Marines by day, criminals by night." Follow Sarah Burge on Twitter @sarahkburge or online at blog.pe.com/crime-blotter Latest Headlines
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