2 Teen-Agers to Be Tried as Adults in Beach Killing
Two New Mexico teen-agers accused of killing a Northridge woman in a Zuma Beach restroom last May will be tried as adults, a juvenile commissioner ruled Monday.
Sylmar Juvenile Court Commissioner Jack Gold ruled that Guillermo Bustos and Michael Loretto, both 17, were unfit to be tried as juveniles because of the gravity and sophistication of the crime. The youths face first-degree murder charges with special circumstances that could earn them a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole, said Los Angeles Deputy Dist. Atty. Harvey Giss.
Investigators said they believe that Loretto and Bustos ran away in late May from the small New Mexico town of Pojoaque and took a bus to Southern California to avoid a burglary investigation. Loretto and Bustos allegedly accosted and stabbed Jacqueline Kirkham, 43, in a public restroom at the beach.
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