One of Marine's Accused Killers Known as 'Psycho'
Updated 2:39 PM PST, Fri, Nov 7, 2008
New details are emerging about the four men accused of killing a Marine officer and his wife during a home invasion robbery and sexual attack.
The newly married Sgt. Jan Pietrzak, 24, and Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak, 26 were found gagged, tied and shot in the head on Oct. 15 in the living room of their home in Winchester, Calif.
The four Marines, including one known as "Psycho," told investigators they robbed and murdered the couple after breaking into their home in search of valuables and sexually assaulting the woman, according to court documents.
Murder and other charges have been filed against Lance Cpl. Emrys John, 18, of Maryland; Lance Cpl. Tyrone Miller, 20, of North Carolina; Pvt. Kevin Cox, 20, of Tennessee, and Lance Cpl. Kesaun Sykes, 21, of California. John and Miller worked for Pietrzak, who was a helicopter airframe mechanic at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego.
Miller told a sheriff's investigator that he forced his way into the home by pointing a shotgun at Pietrzak, according to an affidavit from a sheriff's investigator. Miller said he and the others went to Pietrzak's home to rob him, and they tied up the couple and discussed with John whether to kill them. Cox and Sykes, known as "Psycho," acknowledged they went to the home to rob Pietrzak, according to officials.
The document also said shoes found at the barracks where Cox and John lived matched prints left at the crime scene, and items believed stolen from the house was found at Sykes' home.
Sykes, who lives in the Fallbrook area in San Diego County, was arrested on Sunday. The other three Marines lived at the Camp Pendleton base and were held there until they were transferred to a Riverside County jail on Wednesday.
The men were each charged with two counts of first-degree murder and special-circumstance allegations of committing multiple murders, committing the crime during a robbery, and rape by instrument, district attorney's spokesman Ryan Hightower said Thursday.
John, whom prosecutors believe shot the couple, also was charged with a special-circumstance allegation of using a firearm to inflict great bodily injury or death.
Prosecutors had not decided whether to seek the death penalty.
The four men are being held without bail. Their are due in court Nov. 20.
First Published: Nov 7, 2008 2:34 PM PST
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