Vista jury to resume deliberations in sex-cult murder case

A jury in Vista, Calif., is set to resume deliberations Tuesday in the trial of three “master-slave” sex-cult members charged with murder in the torture and death of a Marine wife.

The three killed 22-year-old Brittany Killgore of Fallbrook, Calif., “for their own sadistic pleasure,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Patrick Espinoza told jurors.

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Killgore was not a part of the cult, which enjoyed bondage, whipping, spanking, cutting, sadism and masochism, Espinoza said.

Without knowing that the three had a “sex dungeon” in their rented home, Killgore had agreed to go on a dinner cruise with one of the defendants, former Marine staff-sergeant Louis Perez, prosecutors said.

Perez, 49, is charged along with Dorothy Grace Maraglino, 40, and Jessica Lynn Lopez, 28.

Each defendant has an attorney. Each attorney asserts that his client was not present during the killing.

Killgore’s nude body was found in a ravine in southern Riverside County four days after she was reported missing on April 13, 2012. She had been strangled, possibly with a rope, according to an autopsy report.

Killgore had just filed for divorce from her husband, who was deployed to Afghanistan, when she disappeared after reportedly going on an outing with Perez.

Perez had boasted that he planned to hold a sadomasochism session that weekend, according to evidence submitted during the preliminary hearing.

Killgore had agreed to go on a dinner cruise with Perez the night of April 13 in exchange for his help in moving her belongings out of her Fallbrook apartment.

Within 13 minutes of getting into Perez’s truck, Killgore reportedly texted a friend, “Help.” Moments later the friend texted back, “Brittany are u okay I am freaking out here.”

Prosecutors assert that Perez took Killgore to his Fallbrook home and texted Lopez and Maraglino to join him. In the house, investigators found “sex apparatuses, toys, and a sex dungeon,” according to a search warrant.

Among the items found were ropes, whips, a Taser, a nightstick and spiked gloves. Perez and the victim’s husband, Cpl. Cory Killgore, were both assigned to Camp Pendleton. Perez was on active duty when arrested; he is no longer in the Marine Corps.

The district attorney is not seeking the death penalty. Jury deliberations began Friday.

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