The death penalty has been taken off the table in the case of a Marine wife who was kidnapped, tortured and killed in 2012.
Marine Sgt. Louis Ray Perez, 48, Dorothy Maraglino, 39, and Jessica Lynn Lopez, 27, will face life in prison without parole if convicted in the death of 22-year-old Brittany Killgore, Deputy District Attorney Patrick Espinoza announced at a readiness conference Friday.
The prosecutor confirmed his office would not be seeking the death penalty if the defendants are convicted at their June trial.
Killgore went missing on April 13, 2012, after she agreed to go on a dinner cruise with Perez, an acquaintance, according to police. Four days later, her body was found nude and mutilated near Lake Skinner in Riverside County.
Prosecutors say Killgore was the unwilling member of a deadly sex game between Perez, Maraglino and Lopez, who allegedly participated in a bondage, discipline and sadomasochistic (BDSM) lifestyle.
At their preliminary hearing, witnesses testified about the BDSM practices that went on in the trio’s home on East Fallbrook Street.
A suicide letter written by Lopez in April 2012 also played a prominent role for the prosecution, for they say it describes in detail how Killgore was killed.
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All three defendants have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping, torture and conspiracy to commit a crime.
