$11,500 Added to Reward in Carson Kidnap-Slaying

A fund of $11,500 was set up this week as a reward for information about three young men who kidnapped a couple from a Carson drive-in theater last month and fatally shot the woman after beating and raping her. The total reward money offered for information on the Dec. 15 incident now exceeds $20,000.

The Carson City Council created a $5,000 reward fund Tuesday and announced an additional $5,000 donation from Syufy Enterprises, owner of the the South Bay Six Drive-In where the kidnapping occurred, $1,000 from the Dominguez Water Co. and $500 from the Carson-Dominguez Kiwanis Club. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors set up a separate $10,000 reward fund last month.

“The main thrust is that the city is tired of senseless killing,” said Carson spokeswoman Eva Gatling. “This happened right here at home in one of our entertainment facilities.”

The drive-in will promote the reward with public service messages at the beginning of each show and posters in the snack bar, said Jack Myhill, general manager of the drive-in’s San Francisco-based parent company.

Jesus Martinez, 26, of Gardena and Irene Franco, 20, of Wilmington were watching a movie when the three unidentified assailants forced their way into the couple’s car. They drove to a nearby alley where they beat Martinez and raped Franco. Franco’s body, which had also been beaten, was discovered the next morning several miles away with a bullet wound in the back of the head. Sheriff’s deputies say their investigation is continuing.