Money Cited as Motive in Death of Woman, 73

Kenneth McKinzie appeared on Ruth Eloise Avril’s doorstep one night 2 1/2 years ago and offered to help the 73-year-old landlady lug a Christmas tree into her second-story apartment.

Hours later, aching for drugs and short on cash, McKinzie returned to her Oxnard home with less than neighborly intentions.

He hid near her garage past midnight, and when she went downstairs to turn off a light, he fatally beat her before stealing the wrapped presents from under her tree and other valuables.

That account was revealed Thursday in Ventura County Superior Court, prompting Judge James Cloninger to bind McKinzie over for trial on charges of murder, robbery, carjacking and burglary.

He has pleaded not guilty and an arraignment is set for July 15.

The 37-year-old Oxnard resident also faces a special circumstance allegation that the slaying occurred during a robbery--an allegation that makes him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

Authorities say McKinzie beat and strangled Avril on Dec. 21, 1995, before dumping her body in an irrigation ditch near Ormond Beach.

Thirteen witnesses testified against McKinzie during the daylong preliminary hearing, including two friends--Teresa Johnson and Ralph Gladney--who told the judge that McKinzie confessed to the killing.

McKinzie needed money. He intended to rob Avril, but when she fought back, he lost control, they said.

“He was hitting her and hitting her,” Gladney testified. “She wouldn’t stop yelling and then he said he choked her. He said he just freaked out and he was scared.”

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McKinzie’s girlfriend, who did not testify, lived in Avril’s apartment building, which had three units. Avril lived on the second floor.

Johnson told the judge that McKinzie came to her Oxnard apartment one night before Christmas 1995 looking for drugs.

He also had numerous credit cards in a woman’s name, including an ATM card, Johnson said, and wanted her to go with him to a grocery store to see if they could withdraw money.

At his request, she said, she put socks on her hands to conceal any fingerprints before withdrawing more than $200. He gave her some money, she said, and returned to her house later with $40 worth of rock cocaine.

As they got high, Johnson testified, McKinzie confessed to the killing and described the assault.

“He came up behind her and tried to knock her out,” Johnson testified. “He hit her with his fist.”

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But when Avril didn’t fall down, Johnson said, McKinzie grabbed the woman, put her in the trunk of her black Ford Taurus, and slammed the truck on her head.

“He said she was hollering and she wouldn’t shut up,” Johnson said. “He said he took her way out somewhere--out on a back road.”

Johnson told the judge that McKinzie threatened to kill her, too, if she uttered a word about the assault.

“He said he thought he killed somebody,” said the 40-year-old recovering drug addict, her voice soft and shaky with emotion. “[He said] that it could happen to me.”

But on cross-examination, defense attorney Willard Wiksell got Johnson to admit that although she could remember McKinzie’s words that night, she could not recall what day it was or what either of them were wearing at the time.

“I am going to ask you questions about your memory,” Wiksell began. “It seems you were using quite a bit of cocaine that night.”

Wiksell later admitted into evidence 29 aliases that Johnson has used over the years, 24 different birth dates, and a rap sheet that includes five convictions for prostitution.

When he asked Johnson why she did not notify the police, she said she thought McKinzie was “joking.”

His other friend, Gladney, admitted that he agreed to testify against McKinzie after the district attorney promised not to seek jail time in his pending drug case.

In other testimony, McKinzie’s 15-year-old daughter, Kenisha, told the judge that her father gave her a camera, television, silk blouse and a pink bathrobe for Christmas in 1995.

A district attorney investigator who later seized the camera as evidence testified that when the film inside of it was developed, it revealed pictures taken by Avril.

During Kenisha’s brief testimony, McKinzie held his face in his hands and cried. After she was excused from the witness stand, the Channel Islands High School student turned to her father, paused and silently mouthed the words “I love you.”

According to court records, McKinzie has a long criminal history in Ventura County for various drug charges and probation violations. He recently served time at Wasco State Prison near Bakersfield for a 1994 drug case, records show.

He is currently being held without bail in the Ventura County Jail.