Brittany Killgore Murder: Marine Louis Ray Perez Pleads Not Guilty, Held On $3 Million Bail

Marine Louis Ray Perez has entered a plea of not guilty on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Brittany Killgore, wife of Marine Cory Killgore.

VISTA, Calif. — Brittany Killgore was hoping to unwind for three days after filing for divorce from her Marine husband serving in Afghanistan.

Prosecutors believe things quickly went wrong when she met another Marine for a night out.

"She sent a text saying, `Help,'" Patrick Espinoza, a deputy district attorney in San Diego County, said Thursday. "She was missing from that point on."

Authorities said Killgore's body was found in brush near Lake Skinner on April 17, hours after paramedics were called to a San Diego motel and found another woman with self-inflicted cuts and a suicide note.

Killgore's message to an unidentified friend was disclosed at an arraignment for Louis Ray Perez, 45, who pleaded not guilty to murder.

The brief hearing offered the most details yet of what authorities believe happened to the 22-year-old Killgore after she disappeared on April 13.

Espinoza said investigators found Killgore's blood and a weapon in Perez's car. He also said Perez told investigators he dropped off Killgore in downtown San Diego's bustling Gaslamp District, but investigators concluded that he lied about his whereabouts and stayed about 60 miles north in Fallbrook, where Killgore lived.

Jessica Lynn Lopez, 25, the woman authorities said was found by paramedics at the motel, also has pleaded not guilty to murder.

The prosecutor said Lopez and Perez once lived together but didn't indicate when or where. Lopez currently lives a mile from Killgore's second-floor apartment overlooking Camp Pendleton.

Espinoza didn't disclose a possible motive or other details about the death during the hearing, and he later declined to elaborate on the investigation.

It's still unclear how Killgore died and whether the unspecified weapon authorities said they found in Perez's car was used in the killing.

Perez's attorney, Jeff Reichert, said Lopez's suicide note shows "very, very clearly" that she killed Killgore and that his client was not involved.

"The court has information in its hands that exonerates my client on this charge," Reichert said.

However, details of the note were not released, and Superior Court Judge Kimberlee Lagotta ordered it to be sealed.

Perez, a Marine for 16 years who is married and has lived in the San Diego area for 10 years, has also pleaded not guilty to stealing an assault weapon. The prosecutor said Perez stole the weapon and a motorcycle from a trailer at Camp Pendleton.

The death has shaken many at Camp Pendleton and neighboring Fallbrook, known for its rolling hills and avocado orchards. The Killgores lived in one of several apartment complexes on Ammunition Road that advertise special rates for military members and is close to a base entrance.

Killgore recently separated from Marine Lance Cpl. Cory Killgore, who was in Afghanistan when she disappeared. She cited irreconcilable differences in her divorce filing but gave no other details.

Cory Killgore made his first public comments about his wife's death in a statement released Thursday by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

"My wife Brittany was beautiful beyond words and her murder has left me devastated," the statement said. "My duty to her memory is now to ensure her good reputation remains intact, and help law enforcement and prosecutors secure justice for the person or persons who took her away from me."

Cory Killgore has not been named as a suspect or person of interest in the killing. The couple married in July 2010.

The judge set bail at $3 million each for Perez and Lopez and scheduled a preliminary hearing for May 30. If convicted, they could face maximum sentences of life in prison.

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Comments

[bdl00]

07:16 PM on 04/29/2012

It's actually disgusted me how here we have a victim and she's getting more accusations thrown at her than the murderer/s. Are you people forgetting that she was murdered? She could have been silenty suffering in her marriage months upon months for all we know and felt it was in her best interest to file for the divorce while her husband was deloyed for safety reasons or just because sometimes when going through these sorts of things you need your own personal time. We are forgetting the actual crime here!

[jason thomson]

01:23 PM on 04/29/2012

"What makes the grass grow"? BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD
"What do we do for a living, ladies"? KILL KILL KILL

18 U.S veterans commit suicide each day, over a million in prison & many end up killing their wives or others. you can't spend years creating & programming ppl into killing machines then expect to just 'switch it off' when they come home & it will all go away. One day you'r in very real & immediate danger, watching ppl get their legs blown off & their skin burned, another day you'r walking through a shopping mall. I imagine the memories & constant nightmares would be maddening. I know ppl who are not Marines kill, & i know a lot of Marines come home stronger & more stable but its not completely surprising to me where their notoriety for killing spouses etc comes from.

[Genesis2012]

09:49 PM on 04/27/2012

Uncle Newt and cousin Mitt said "It was Obamas fault"

[natureman44]

03:05 AM on 04/28/2012

ignorant

[Genesis2012]

03:51 PM on 04/28/2012

I know right? very very much so... i feel bad for the family, how incosiderate of them, why blame Obama.....

[Tony Twohill]

03:53 PM on 04/28/2012

And Santorum would blame the lift of Don't Ask Don't Tell.

[Genesis2012]

04:25 PM on 04/28/2012

Joe Arpaio is checking out her birth certificate.

[baydolphins]

09:19 PM on 04/27/2012

I think the fact that this woman was murdered is terrible, but who divorces someone when they are away fighting a war?

[Nicole Jaime]

10:04 PM on 04/27/2012

You don't know her situation, and neither do I, but it is possible that leaving him while he was deployed might have felt safer for her. No one know what happens in another persons marriage, behind closed doors.

[codifex]

11:18 PM on 04/27/2012

Getting a divorce, in such circumstances, would not be easy. After all, how can he be present in court when he is overseas. Would he just sign a waiver and let he do as she pleases?

[baydolphins]

08:53 AM on 04/28/2012

ok...true...but I still think it's a cowardly move for the most part

[Nicole Jaime]

03:55 PM on 04/28/2012

Just cause you serve in the military and deploy over seas to a war zone doesn't make you a good person, trust me I served in the Army under Sgt. who had been in for years and deployed twice while he was in my company. Last year he was being court marshaled for raping a child and died in a stand off with police. And yet another soldier in my company was court marshaled for child pornography on his computer and is currently serving a 13 year sentence. Not all who wear the Uniform and deploy are good just because they do so. And plus you don't know if the divorce was mutual for both parties. And calling a victim out for something like this, after she's been MURDERED is extremely tacky and sad.

[baydolphins]

04:43 PM on 04/28/2012

I wasn't calling her out...I said her murder was terrible...I just am not sure about divorcing someone who is deployed. Nobody is claiming they are all angels.

[emeathead45]

06:32 PM on 04/27/2012

This story has been on here for 2 days now, and we still haven`t seen the ``TERRIFYING` text they mentioned in the lead-in headline.

[Savine]

07:37 PM on 04/27/2012

That's Huff Po trying to reel you in. HOWEVER she was terrified when she texted "Help" don't you think?

Pretty terrifying knowing you are going to be murdered.

[lpcrsotp]

07:59 PM on 04/27/2012

A text containing only the word "help" becomes terrifying when one realizes she only had time to send one word and likely by that time knew she was going to be murdered.

[harolddundee]

06:05 PM on 04/27/2012

Time for the rope.

[fmcws]

05:58 PM on 04/27/2012

i guess if she would have been at home she wouldnt be dead now..........sorry but she was still married ......and her cheating ways caused her own death

[Savine]

07:38 PM on 04/27/2012

So I guess practically all the men in the world should be dead for their cheating ways.

[ardonia]

10:29 PM on 04/27/2012

Sounds good to me!!!

[Richard Criss]

10:44 PM on 04/27/2012

I have yet to meet a faithful woman, just saying.

[quienwho]

08:21 PM on 04/27/2012

She wasn't cheating, and you've posted here and elsewhere that she deserved to die, just like a misogynist. YOU, are frightening. She was invited by Perez and his "girlfriend" (not Lopez) to go on a dinner cruise. NOT cheating, not wrapped up in any kind of affair. Leaving the state in 3 days, personal belongings already shipped to mom & dad's, told grandma she'd met new friends (Perez, Lopez, Perez's girlfriend) and was going out for one last evening -- a quiet evening on the water, dressed in an evening gown is how police found her body. Using aliases, Perez and Lopez rented rooms in a house (her meeting place and murder place) described 2 weeks ago by law enforcement as being rigged up as some type of "sex dungeon". Since, journalists have found both Lopez and Perez online advertising on s&m sites and slave and master. HOW is Mrs. Killgore to blame for being lured in by two deceivers to her death ... she was going out to eat!
She did NOTHING wrong -- so please cease posting as you and others have repetetively defamed this poor victim's character and memory. Her parents and her husband are suffering terribly ... if you can write nothing decent, write nothing at all, but cease writing lies in an attempt to harm.

[db4you]

04:31 PM on 04/27/2012

Help ! That is a terrifying text ?

[reasonable84]

08:10 PM on 04/27/2012

It is when You know it is your last text ever...

[db4you]

10:23 PM on 04/27/2012

the news media loves to glorify everything even a poor womans murder.

[Theunknown85]

04:30 PM on 04/27/2012

Another beautiful young lady taken away from the ones that loved her. Have they said what her cause of death was? If Perez and Lopez did it, I hope they rot. Why should they get life in prison? Execute them like they chose to harm her.

[JP62]

04:01 PM on 04/27/2012

GinaNsocal Did it ever occur to anyone that some divorces can be "amicable".

Umm, yes we did. They are the ones where the ex-wife doesnt turn up dead !! Get real !

[woohoosal]

03:43 PM on 04/27/2012

I am thinking that the husband hired them to kill her, it's just a gut feeling. Poor girl, may she rest in peace.

[bdl00]

06:53 PM on 04/29/2012

I have a feeling the husband hired them also. There's just an ironic feeling to it all.

[GinaNsocal]

02:44 PM on 04/27/2012

RIP Brittany And yes, she filed for divorce from her husband who was deployed in Afghanistan.
Did it ever occur to anyone that some divorces can be "amicable". Brittany was planning to go back to her parents home in a few days. Unfortunately, she met up with these "sickos". So far, there is NO EVIDENCE that says she was in a relationship with this 45 year old Marine, who BTW is married, and NOT to the 22 year old Lopez, who was also arrested on first degree murder.

[fmcws]

05:25 PM on 04/27/2012

hey i have some lakefront property in the desert you could buy too.................please try more education and less talk.......

[Xanadutu]

12:26 AM on 04/28/2012

Seems like you only understand Grunts, Burps and Farts!!!

[wonderfulnews]

02:21 PM on 04/27/2012

Lopez & Perez - LOSERS
Very sad situation to be involved with people like them and this Brittany just didn't know better.

[reasonable84]

02:50 PM on 04/27/2012

That's a disgusting statement. Nobody who cheats deserves to be murdered.

[seaangel1991]

03:17 PM on 04/27/2012

To artgracia: How do you know? Have you been there? Have you done that? Can you prove that if in case you charged under the UCMJ or at a civilian Court of Law? Or can you prove otherwise? If you have nothing good or truth to say then it can be better for the world and you if you just remain quite.

[wonderfulnews]

02:13 PM on 04/27/2012

Marine Perez is a thief and a possible murderer. Wow!
Brittany was stepping out with him 1 week after filing for divorce from her Marine husband.
What else am I missing? Brittany messed up and messed with the wrong people. I hate that she is dead because it causes that much more pain to her Marine husband. Very sad story all the way around.

[Xanadutu]

12:27 AM on 04/28/2012

HUH??? Were YOU there?? Maybe you killed her, huh???

[reasonable84]

02:20 AM on 04/28/2012

and you... where were you... ?... hmmm....likely....