A telling, graphic suicide note written by one of the defendants accused of conspiring to kill a North County Marine wife was the focal point of the case in court Friday.
Suspects Jessica Lynn Lopez, Dorothy Maraglino and Sgt. Louis Perez are accused of luring 22-year-old Marine wife Brittany Killgore into a deadly trap at their Fallbrook home last April.
Officials say Killgore was an unwilling participant in a deadly sex game at the hands of the trio, who were involved in a bondage, discipline and sadomasochistic lifestyle.
Killgore went missing on April 13 after agreeing to go on a dinner cruise with Perez, an acquaintance at the time. She was found dead – nude and mutilated – on April 17 near Lake Skinner in Riverside County.
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Prosecutors claim the three defendants conspired to kidnap, torture and sexually assault Killgore.
The three defendants have been in court all week for a preliminary hearing that will determine whether there’s enough evidence for Lopez, Maraglino and Perez to stand trial.
Throughout the week, many witnesses have taken the stand, detailing Killgore’s last days and the BDSM lifestyle the defendants practiced at the home they shared on East Fallbrook Street.
On Friday, more crucial testimony hit the stand.
A detective took the stand and read the full suicide letter written by Lopez in April 2012, which describes in detail how Killgore was killed.
The letter was taken into evidence on April 17, 2012 – the same day officials found Killgore’s body. The letter was discovered along with Lopez at the Ramada Inn on Rosecrans Street, where she was taken into custody with self-inflicted wounds.
In the apparent confession letter, Lopez recalls slamming Killgore into the stairs and duct taping her wrists, ankles and mouth.
Lopez goes on to say that she used a taser on Killgore, strangled her to death and then attempted to mutilate her before dumping her body.
“I made a few attempts to chop her up like Dexter with Master’s power tools, but I was afraid it was too loud and it sucked at cutting flesh,” the detective read from the letter on the stand Friday. “Master, I know you said to respect the tools but I’m sorry, I had to throw them out. I could tell my pills were about to kick in and I knew I had to dump the body fast.”
Killgore’s family was in court Friday during testimony, listening to every word of the graphic note that allegedly offers a glimpse into the brutal death of the young Marine wife.
Photo Credit: NBC 7 San Diego