2 Youths to Stand Trial in Slaying of Woman
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Two New Mexico teen-agers will stand trial in the fatal stabbing of a Northridge woman in a Zuma Beach restroom last May, officials said Friday.
Sylmar Juvenile Court Commissioner Jack Gold ruled that there was sufficient evidence to try Michael Loretto and Guillermo Bustos, both 17, in the death of Jacqueline Kirkham, 43, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Harvey Giss.
Investigators said they believe the two youths, along with a friend, Jason Alexander, also 17, ran away in late May and took a bus to Southern California to avoid a burglary investigation. After a brief stay in Los Angeles, they allegedly accosted and stabbed Kirkham in a public restroom, took her car and purse and returned to New Mexico.
The three were arrested June 5 after New Mexico State Police found Kirkham’s wrecked car on a highway north of Santa Fe.
Alexander was not charged in the slaying.
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