Ex-Courthouse Guard Sentenced

A former security guard at the downtown County Courthouse was sentenced Friday to 31 years to life in state prison for killing a homeless mother and molesting her two daughters.

The term was handed down to Kevin Kulo, 31, of El Cajon, for the Jan. 10 murder of Mary Jo Zavala, 34, who had gone to the courthouse to seek emergency housing after being turned away elsewhere.

Kulo took Zavala; her daughters, ages 10 and 4, and a 2-year-old son to his trailer in El Cajon. The 10-year-old girl later told police that she saw Kulo strangle and beat her mother, whose body was dumped the next day on Murphy Canyon Road.

Municipal Judge William Woodward imposed 15 years to life for the murder and an additional 16 years for the molestations.

Kulo pleaded guilty April 13 to second-degree murder and two child molestation counts.

Woodward said Kulo “took advantage of a position of trust due to his uniform.”

Kulo’s attorney, Bill Youmans, said that, if Kulo had gone to trial and been convicted of all charges, including kidnaping and a third molestation count, he could have received 63 years. With the plea, he will be “eligible for parole in his early 50s,” Youmans said.

The dead woman’s 10-year-old daughter was a key witness against Kulo, providing police with his description and details about his car, trailer and uniform.

After their mother’s killing, the two girls and the baby were let off at the Mission Bay Visitors Center, where they told their story. The children now are living in foster homes.