Mother Slain, Girl Aids in Seizing Suspect

Barefoot, dirty and frightened, three young children wandered up to the Mission Bay visitor’s center and told a horrifying story of how their mother was brutally killed by a courthouse security guard she had turned to in a desperate plea for help for her homeless family.

The ingenuity of the oldest child, a 10-year-old girl, who kept notes of their three days with the stranger, led to the arrest Friday of 31-year-old Kevin Kulo, a private security guard at the downtown San Diego County Courthouse. The girl was able to describe to police how Kulo allegedly beat her mother, put her body in a bag and dumped it off Murphy Canyon Road.

Police said the girls, ages 10 and 4, and their 2-year-old brother apparently witnessed the death of their mother, Mary Jo Zavala, 34. Police are also investigating the oldest girl’s report that she was allegedly handcuffed by Kulo after she jumped on his back when he tried to rape her 4-year-old sister.

“All of the cases we deal with are tragic enough,” said homicide Lt. Gary Learn. “But when you get children involved, that adds another whole dimension.”

Ted Jardine, the owner of the Mission Bay Visitor’s Information Center, broke into tears Friday when he described how the oldest girl, waiting for police in his office Thursday, doodled on a note pad these words: “Mom come back” and “Kevin, you’ll pay for this.”

“I looked at her and then saw all these strained looks on everybody’s face, and tears were coming down all the cheeks of our employees,” he said. “It was gut wrenching.”

In discussing the information the 10-year-old girl gave police, Learn said, “Her help was very crucial.”

He said she provided a detailed description of the suspect, the color of his uniform and specifics about his blue car and brown-and-white trailer, all of which were pivotal in helping authorities locate Kulo on Friday morning in El Cajon.

He was arrested inside the trailer while it was parked near Orange and Cypress avenues. By Friday night, he was booked on suspicion of murder and was being held in the downtown County Jail, where he had worked as a private security guard under contract with the county.

County officials said Kulo was a member of the Equity Security force and had worked on and off for the county since 1985.

Police said Kulo had no permanent address and lived in his trailer, often moving to different locations within the county.

Authorities said the children told detectives that their mother took her family to the courthouse Tuesday, where she approached Kulo, and sought his help for her homeless family.

“They apparently started up a short relationship after they met,” Learn said.

Zavala’s body was found about 1 p.m. Wednesday, in the gulch off Interstate 15 and Murphy Canyon Road. The children remained with Kulo Wednesday night.

The oldest girl said Kulo dropped them off Thursday at Mission Bay. Workers at the Mission Bay visitors center said they spotted the children about 1 p.m. outside their booth near Interstate 5 and Clairemont Drive. The kids were barefoot, their clothing full of dirt and sand.

The oldest girl had a book with her notes and several dollars folded inside. Police said the girl told them that the money had come from the man who killed her mother. She also said that she had promised him that she would not tell anyone what he had done.

But she told police that she had also promised God that she would never lie.