Marines Accused of Killing Fellow Marine

Four Camp Pendleton-based Marines under 21 face charges of murder

Four Camp Pendleton-based Marines face charges in the recent killings of a Marine sergeant and his wife in the couple's Riverside County home.

Riverside County Sheriff's deputies discovered the bodies of Jan Pietrzak, 24, and his wife Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak, 26, on Oct. 15 in their Winchester home after receiving a call from the Marine Corps because the sergeant had not shown up for work.

The suspects -- two of whom belong to Pietrzak's unit at Camp Pendleton, allegedly ransacked the home and likely killed the couple for financial gain, the Sheriff's Department said.

Deputies found the door of the house open and the deceased couple bound and gagged in the family room. A fire had been set in the house in an attempt to destroy evidence. Investigators later found numerous items of evidence linking the four suspects to the killings, authorities said.

The suspects face murder charges. They include Pvt. Emrys John, 18, of Maryland; Lance Cpl. Tyrone Miller, 20, of North Carolina; Pvt. Kevin Darnell Cox, 20, of Tennessee, and Pvt. Kesuan Sykes, 21, of California.  Only Sykes is in Sheriff's custody. The other three are in custody on Camp Pendleton.

Messages left on an online guest book mention Quiana worked at San Diego State University Library. Another online forum lists a number of condolences for SGT Pietrzak and his wife. SGT Peitrzak was buried at Riverside National Cemetery.

According to an article in The Press-Enterprise, which included a photo of the couple, Pietrzak was a native of Poland and a helicopter airframe mechanic. His wife worked for the Riverside County Public Health Department's Black Infant Care Center in Perris.  The article states the couple bought their home in May and married in August.

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