View source for Murders of Jan Pawel and Quiana Jenkins Pietrzak

{{Short description|Murder and Sexual Assault Case of a US Marine and his wife by four other marines}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jan Paweł Pietrzak and Quiana Jenkins Pietrzak
| image = Image:Pietrzak .jpg
| caption = Jan Paweł and Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1984|3|13|mf=y}} (Jan Paweł) {{birth date|1982|2|16|mf=y}} (Quiana)
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{death date|2008|10|15|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Riverside County, California]], USA
| death_cause = Gunshot wounds to head
| resting_place = [[Riverside National Cemetery]], Riverside County, California, USA
| nationality =
| parents =
}}
On October 15, 2008, [[Sergeant#Marine Corps|United States Marine Corps Sergeant]] Jan Paweł Pietrzak (March 13, 1984 &ndash; October 15, 2008) and his wife Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak (February 16, 1982 &ndash; October 15, 2008) were tortured, sexually assaulted and murdered by four American Marines.<ref>http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=websearch-3892&so=2&pcat=BMD_DEATH&rank=1&new=1&MSAV=0&msT=1&gss=angs-c&gsfn=Quiana&gsln=Jenkins-Pietrzak&msypn__ftp=CA {{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref>
== Overview ==
Pietrzak was a [[Polish American]] who joined the [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine Corps]] in 2003. After a tour in [[Iraq]] as a helicopter mechanic, Pietrzak returned to the United States, where he met and married Jenkins.  Together, they owned and lived in a house in [[Winchester, California|Winchester]], a [[census-designated place]] in [[Riverside County, California|Riverside County]], [[California]], located near the [[Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton]], where Pietrzak worked.
On October 15, 2008, four Marines entered the Pietrzak home, sexually assaulted Jenkins-Pietrzak and tortured the couple before killing them. Two of the four accused Marines worked under Pietrzak's command. Despite efforts to convey the event as being racially motivated because the perpetrators were African American, Riverside County authorities maintain the motivation was robbery, and the pending murder with special circumstances and sexual assault charges do not include an assertion that the crime was racially motivated. According to the New York Daily News, "the words N----- Lover were found on the wall near the master bedroom and on a bathroom mirror, Riverside County Homicide Investigator Benjamin Ramirez testified." All four of the accused pled not guilty to murdering Pietrzak and his wife.
After meeting with the families of the deceased, District Attorney [[Rod Pacheco]] decided to seek the death penalty on January 22, 2009.  The preliminary trial hearings to determine whether the four assailants would stand trial occurred on March 26, 2009,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/mar/26/bn26piet195841/?zIndex=73317|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202070809/http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/mar/26/bn26piet195841/?zIndex=73317|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 2, 2013|title=Defendants in couple's murder may have implicated themselves|work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]|accessdate=20 March 2011}}</ref> and April 3, 2009, in San Diego.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.10news.com/news/19085432/detail.html|title=Hearing Begins For 4 Marines Accused In Robbery-Murder|work=KGTV San Diego|accessdate=20 March 2011}}</ref>
On 24 June 2013, a jury rendered a verdict of death for two of the four assailants and life in prison without parole for a third. The fourth assailant was later also sentenced to death.<ref name="nydailynews.com">http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/final-suspect-sentenced-death-murder-newlyweds-article-1.2004633 ></ref>
==Background==
Jan Paweł Pietrzak, named after Pope [[John Paul II]],<ref>{{cite news |work=PoliGazette |title=4 Marines Suspected of Killing Their Commander |first=Michael |last=van der Galien |url=http://www.poligazette.com/2008/11/07/4-marines-suspected-of-killing-their-commander/ |date=November 7, 2008}}{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> was born in either [[Kłodzko]]<ref name="poln2">{{cite news |first=Paweł |last=Rybicki |url=http://www.polishnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=82:news-from-usa-wiadomosci-z-usa-usa&id=510:wstrzsajce-zabojstwo-sieranta-jana-pawea-pietrzaka-i-jego-ony-dokonane-przez-amerykaskich-marynarzy-&Itemid=199 |work=Polish News |title=Shocking Murder of Sergeant Jan Paweł Pietrzak and His Wife |date=November 13, 2008 |accessdate=December 9, 2008 |language=pl}}</ref> or [[Bielawa]], [[Poland]].<ref name="mmto">{{cite news |url=http://polonia.wp.pl/kat,1010223,wid,10558436,wiad_media.html?ticaid=571ca |title=Marines Murdered Their Officer |language=pl}}</ref> In 1994, when Pietrzak was age ten, his family emigrated to the U.S., and settled in the [[Bensonhurst]] neighborhood in [[Brooklyn, New York]].
Pietrzak joined the Marines in 2003,<ref name="mmto"/> became a helicopter mechanic and was sent to Iraq. After his return, he married Jenkins, whom he had met in 2005 at a party for Marines being deployed to Iraq. Jenkins, who worked for the local Black Infant Care Center,<ref>{{cite news |first=Rick |last=Rogers |title=Four Marines Accused of Killing Sergeant, Wife at Home |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20081121-9999-1m21marines.html |work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]] |date=November 21, 2008 |accessdate=December 17, 2008 }}</ref> was initially reluctant to date a Marine. But Pietrzak won her over, and they were married on August 8, 2008. They bought a house in May in [[Winchester, California|Winchester]], an area near Temecula, California and near [[Camp Pendleton]], and Pietrzak remained in the Marines, working as a helicopter airframe mechanic at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
== Death ==
On October 15, 2008, a group of four Marines entered the Pietrzak home. It was not initially known how they managed to get in as Jenkins-Pietrzak was very careful about security and had equipped the house with an alarm.<ref name="poln2"/> Later, it was alleged that Tyrone Miller forced entry into the residence by pointing a shotgun at Pietrzak.<ref name=Temecula>[http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/riverside/20081119-1202-twodead.html "Marines Accused of Killing Temecula Couple To Be Arraigned Thursday"].</ref>
After a short skirmish, the couple were bound with duct tape and gagged. Jenkins-Pietrzak was then sexually assaulted as her husband was forced to watch. Finally, both were shot in the head, execution-style. Several small fires were set in the home in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence of the crime.<ref name="abc1"/> Lance Cpl. Emrys John, age 18, of Maryland, Lance Cpl. Kesaun Sykes, age 21, of California, Pvt. Kevin Darnell Cox, 20, of Tennessee, and Lance Cpl. Tyrone Miller, age 20, of North Carolina were charged with the murders. Two of the four Marines charged in the execution-style murders worked for Pietrzak.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dillon|first=Nancy|date=November 21, 2008|work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|title=Marines Deny Guilt in Slays, Rape|accessdate=December 18, 2008|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/11/20/2008-11-20_marines_deny_guilt_in_slays_rape.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Siemaszko|first=Corky|date=November 21, 2008|work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|title=Mother of Murdered Marine Jan Paweł Pietrzak and Daughter-in-Law Writes Obama for Help|accessdate=December 18, 2008|quote=The Pietrzaks were tortured &mdash; and Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak was raped &mdash; before they were bound, gagged and killed execution style last month in their California home.|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/11/12/2008-11-12_mother_of_murdered_marine_jan_pawel_piet.html}}</ref><ref name=Fuentes>Fuentes, Gidget (June 28, 2009). [http://militarytimes.com/news/2009/06/marine_murder_edited_062809w/ "Killed in Their Own Home"]. ''[[Military Times]]''.</ref> Three of the suspects claim that the shooter was 18-year-old John.<ref name="abc1">{{cite news |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |title=Marines Suspected in Sergeant's Slaying |first=Lee |last=Ferran |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=6204853 |date=November 7, 2008}}</ref> Miller and Cox have reportedly confessed to the murders, although all four suspects have accused the others of raping Jenkins-Pietrzak. Shortly before the murder, John posted "Chillin waitin 4 da killin" on his [[MySpace]] page.<ref name="Dillon">{{cite news |first=Nancy |last=Dillon |author2=Corky Siemaszko|title=Confession in Torture, Slay of Brooklyn-Raised Marine Sergeant and Wife |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/11/06/2008-11-06_confession_in_torture_slay_of_brooklynra-2.html |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |date=November 7, 2008 |accessdate=December 17, 2008 }}</ref>
==Motives==
Three days after the murder, the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' ran an October 18, 2008, news brief noting that the bodies were identified on October 17.<ref>{{cite news|last=Perry|first=Tony|date=October 18, 2008|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|title=Pair Found Dead in Home are ID'd|page=4}}</ref> On November 3, the Sheriff's Department announced that it had four Marines under arrest for the murders.<ref name="Arrested">{{cite news|date=November 3, 2008|agency=[[Associated Press]]|title=4 Marines Arrested in Killing of Sergeant, Wife|accessdate=December 17, 2008|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10890656}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> As part of the November 3 announcement, the Sheriff's Department noted that investigators had found numerous items of evidence since October 15 linking the four to the killings, even though the killers set a fire in the house to destroy evidence.<ref name="Arrested"/> On November 6, [[CNN]] television news journalist [[Jane Velez-Mitchell]] reported that the four Marines under arrest were African American and raised the possibility of race as a motivation.<ref>{{cite news|last=Velez-Mitchell|first=Jane |date=November 6, 2008|work=[[CNN]]|title=Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell. Couple Slain by Fellow Marines|accessdate=17 December 2008|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0811/06/ijvm.01.html}}</ref>
In early November, the four Marines were charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances — murder during commission of a felony, murder during commission of a robbery and committing more than one offense. They additionally face one charge each of sexual penetration with a foreign object, and the District Attorney's office will decide if to pursue death sentences.<ref name=Temecula/> Just after the release of the charges, the ''[[New York Post]]'' ran a story entitled "A Few 'Bad' Men - Race Eyed in Marine Dual Slay" which noted that the four accused Marines "could face the death penalty amid speculation the mixed-race couple was targeted in a bias attack."<ref>{{cite news|last=Salazar|first=Carolyn|date=November 7, 2008|work=[[New York Post]]|title=A Few 'Bad' Men - Race Eyed in Marine Dual Slay|page=12|accessdate=December 17, 2008|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/11072008/news/regionalnews/a_few_bad_men_137578.htm}}</ref> At about the same time, District Attorney [[Rod Pacheco]] emphasized the robbery motive, commenting, "To burglarize their home and then to treat them in the way they did before they died and to murder them — it's hard for our minds to comprehend this kind of savagery."<ref name="abc1"/>
By mid-November, the Riverside County Sheriff's Central Homicide unit responded to the race motivation issue, stating "There's nothing to suggest what happened was a racial crime."<ref name="Brutal">{{cite news|last=Dillon|first=Nancy|date=November 14, 2008|work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|title=Brutal Slay of Marine and His Wife Was Not Racially Motivated, Says Cop|page=13|accessdate=December 17, 2008|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/11/14/2008-11-14_brutal_slay_of_marine_and_his_wife_was_n.html}}</ref> Detectives said jewelry, a camera, and wedding gifts had been stolen, and that some of the items were found in the suspects' barracks.<ref>{{cite news |title=US Marines Charged with Murdering Colleague and Wife |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3400613/US-Marines-charged-with-murdering-colleague-and-wife.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=November 7, 2008 |accessdate=December 17, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Nancy |last=Dillon |author2=Corky Siemaszko   |title='Nobody Deserves Death Like This,' Says DA in Torture, Slay of Marine, Wife |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/11/09/2008-11-09_nobody_deserves_death_like_this_says_da_-1.html |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |date=November 10, 2008 |accessdate=December 17, 2008 }}</ref>
Despite the conclusion proposed by the investigators, the couple's parents and many in the general populace, as shown by blogs and posts over the Internet, continue to believe that there was a possible racial motive, particularly since Jenkins-Pietrzak was sexually assaulted, and there was evidence of premeditation in the murders (as 'Chillin waitin 4 da killin' was posted on a perpetrator's [[MySpace]] page before the murders)<ref name="Dillon"/><ref name="Brutal"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.wiadomosci24.pl/artykul/morderstwo_o_ktorym_uszlyszelismy_dopiero_po_wyborach_81170.html |publisher=Wiadomości24.pl |title=A Murder, About Which We Found Out after the Elections |language=pl |date=November 13, 2008}}</ref> Anti-[[miscegenation]] racial epithets in the form of "Nigger Lover" were found on the wall near the master bedroom and on a bathroom mirror.<ref>{{cite news |first=Nancy |last=Dillon |author2=Corky Siemaszko|title=Grim Twist in Torture-Slay of Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and Wife: Racial Epithets on Walls of Home |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/04/03/2009-04-03_grim_twist_in_tortureslay_of_marine_sgt_.html |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |date=April 3, 2009 |accessdate=December 17, 2008 }}</ref>  The Defendants have all indicated that spray-painting the racial epithets was a calculated attempt to misdirect investigators.
On November 20, all four pleaded not guilty to murdering the Pietrzaks.<ref>{{cite news|date=November 21, 2008|agency=[[Associated Press]]|title=4 Marines Plead Not Guilty to Murder|accessdate=December 17, 2008|url=http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=104&sid=1512621|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011123534/http://wtopnews.com/?nid=104|archive-date=October 11, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> District Attorney [[Rod Pacheco]] on February 2, 2009, decided to pursue the death penalty against the suspects.<ref name=Fuentes/><ref>{{cite news|last=Rogers|first=Rick|date=December 16, 2008|work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]|title=Four Marines Might Face Death Penalty in Double Slaying|accessdate=December 17, 2008|url=http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2008/dec/16/1m16marines/?zIndex=23025|archive-date=January 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105131326/http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2008/dec/16/1m16marines/?zIndex=23025|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Correspondence and other involvement with White House==
Pietrzak's mother, Henryka Pietrzak-Varga has repeatedly stated she believes the murders were [[Hate crime#Victims in the United States|racially motivated]], as her son and daughter-in-law were not affluent individuals. On November 11, 2008 ([[Veterans Day|Veteran's Day]]), Pietrzak's mother composed a formal letter to president-elect [[Barack Obama]] in which she discussed what her son and daughter-in-law had endured, and the possible primary motive for the murders. In this letter, Henryka stated: "If it was a robbery, why didn't they come when nobody was home instead of in the dead of night, armed to the teeth? ... What was it about my son and daughter-in-law that inspired such hatred and loathing?"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/6283 |work=[[Canada Free Press]] |title=Anguished Marine Mom Turns to "President Obama" for Help |date=November 14, 2008}} - Full text of the letter sent by Henryka Pietrzak-Varga to Barack Obama</ref> Seven months later on July 27, 2009, the Obama administration responded with generic [[form letter]] of the type issued to all soldiers killed in combat.<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/07/27/2009-07-27_7_months_after_letter_mom_of_murdered_marine_sgt_pietrzak_gets_form_response_fro.html "7 Months after Letter, Mom of Murdered Marine Sgt. Pietrzak Gets Form Response from Obama Aide"].</ref> When knowledge of this indirect, insincere reply reached the news media, the Obama administration issued an apology.<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/07/27/2009-07-27_white_house_apologizes_for_formletter_flap.html "White House Apologizes to Mom of Brooklyn Marine for Form-Letter Flap"].</ref>
The mothers of both Pietrzak and Jenkins requested a formal audience with President Obama; in a letter to the president, the mother of Sgt. Jan Paweł Pietrzak conveyed her wishes to discuss just "how the sacrifice of Jan Paweł and Quiana could [[Racial integration|unite us]]."<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/08/13/2009-08-13_mothers_of_.html "Mothers of Slain Marine Sgt. Jan Paweł Pietrzak and His Wife Appeal for Meeting with President Obama"].</ref> On August 17, 2009, the Commissioner on Civil Rights in Poland also wrote to the [[United States Ambassador to Poland|U.S. Ambassador to Poland]], supporting this request.<ref>[http://www.rpo.gov.pl/pliki/12504968710.pdf Letter from Polish Commissioner on Civil Rights]</ref><ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/08/24/2009-08-24_polish_official_intercedes_on_behalf_of_mothers_of_slain_brooklyn_marine_sgt_pie.html "Polish Official Intercedes on Behalf of Mothers of Slain Brooklyn Marine Sgt. Pietrzak and His Wife].</ref> The U.S. ambassador responded with a short letter on August 24, which although acknowledging Pietrzak's military service to the United States and stressing the general need for the perpetrators to be brought to account, was generally reticent to discuss a potential racial motivation for the murders.<ref>[http://www.rpo.gov.pl/pliki/12525831340.pdf Reply from US Ambassador]</ref>
==Criminal trials==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| total_width = 500
| image1 = Emrys John CDCR.jpg
| caption1 = Emrys John in 2013.
| image2 = Tyrone Miller CDCR.jpg
| caption2 = Tyrone Miller in 2013.
| image3 = Kesaun Sykes CDCR.jpg
| caption3 = Kesaun Sykes in 2014.
| footer = All three men were [[Capital punishment in California|sentenced to death]] and remain on California's [[death row]] at [[San Quentin State Prison]].
}}
On April 3, at a preliminary hearing for the four defendants, prosecutors alleged that the motivation for the crime was financial, not racial.  Evidence, however, presented at the hearing detailed that two racist remarks were spray painted in the couple's home.  Evidence was also presented showing that Jenkins-Pietrzak was sexually assaulted and that Jan was severely beaten.  Riverside County investigator Benjamin Ramirez testified that property belonging to the couple was recovered from Miller's residence on Camp Pendleton, including bank cards, a bracelet with the couple's names written in Polish, and Pietrzak's dress blue uniform.  Investigators further testified that footprints left at the crime scene were linked to shoes belonging to the suspects.<ref>Rogers, Rick (April 4, 2009). "Slayings Of Marine, Wife Focus Of Hearing". ''[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]''. p. B1.</ref>
On May 8, 2009, a recording was played in court of Cox's girlfriend, Melissa Buck, stating that after Cox and the other three accused returned home after the alleged murder, they drank beer and that one of them said, "Good job, E.  You earned your stripes tonight."  Buck stated that the four had carried out other burglaries prior to the killings and that she had gone with them on one occasion.<ref>Dillon, Nancy; Siemaszko, Corky (May 9, 2009).  "Soldiers Toasted Killing Of B'klyn Marine & Wife". ''[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]''.  p. 12.</ref>
In June, Miller acquaintance Justin P. Weissinger testified that several days after the crime Miller had confided in him details of the assault and killing of the Pietrzaks.  Weissinger had accompanied Miller and the other suspects on previous burglaries and home invasions.<ref name=Fuentes/>
On August 12, 2009, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Judith Clark ordered the four defendants to be tried for the deaths of the Pietrzaks.  The re-arraignment was scheduled for August 26.<ref>[[Associated Press]], [http://militarytimes.com/news/2009/08/ap_marine_murder_081209/ "Charges Stand for 4 Accused of Marine Murder"]. ''[[Military Times]]''. August 13, 2009.</ref>
The trial of the four was suspended on February 1, 2011, after Kesaun Sykes urinated during a court hearing.  The judge ordered a psychological evaluation for Sykes.<ref>[[Associated Press]], "[http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/01/calif-murder-defendant-urinates-in-courtroom/?ap Calif murder defendant urinates in courtroom]", ''[[San Diego Union-Tribune]]'', 1 February 2011.</ref>  Sykes' mental competency trial began on May 24, 2011.<ref>Burge, Sarah, "[https://archive.today/20120906091109/http://www.pe.com/southwest/content/publicsafety/stories/PE_News_Local_D_smarines25.2c848c9.html Ex-Marine's mental state at issue in French Valley slayings]", ''[[The Press-Enterprise (California)|The Press-Enterprise]]'', 24 May 2011.</ref>  The jury returned a verdict of mentally fit after two hours of deliberations.  In response, the judge ordered criminal proceedings to resume against Sykes and his co-defendants.<ref>Burge, Sarah, "[https://archive.today/20120905182612/http://www.pe.com/southwest/content/publicsafety/stories/PE_News_Local_D_smarines27.3974950.html Ex-Marine is fit to stand trial in French Valley slayings, jury says]", ''[[The Press-Enterprise (California)|The Press-Enterprise]]'', 24 May 2011.</ref>
Three of the defendants, Kevin Darnell Cox, 25, Emrys Justin John, 23, and Tyrone Miller, 25, went on trial for murder and related charges on Monday, April 8, 2013, at 9 a.m. at the Riverside Hall of Justice.  Two separate juries, one for Cox and another for John and Miller, were empaneled to hear the case.  The fourth defendant, 25-year-old Kesaun Kedron Sykes, was tried separately because there was not enough space in the Hall of Justice for three juries.<ref>City News Service, "[http://www.swrnn.com/2013/04/04/opening-statements-begin-in-trial-of-three-marines-accused-in-slaying-of-french-valley-couple/ Opening statements begin in trial of three marines accused in slaying of French Valley couple] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130630100215/http://www.swrnn.com/2013/04/04/opening-statements-begin-in-trial-of-three-marines-accused-in-slaying-of-french-valley-couple/ |date=2013-06-30 }}", "[[Southwest Riverside News Network]]", 4 April 2013.</ref><ref>City News Service, "[http://www.swrnn.com/2013/04/18/statements-of-marines-accused-in-slayings-to-be-played-in-court/ Statements of Marines accused in slayings to be played in court] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130630092854/http://www.swrnn.com/2013/04/18/statements-of-marines-accused-in-slayings-to-be-played-in-court/ |date=2013-06-30 }}", "[[Southwest Riverside News Network]]", 18 April 2013.</ref>
On June 5, 2013, Cox and John were convicted of two counts of first-degree murder.  Miller was convicted of sexual penetration with a foreign object and two counts of first-degree murder.<ref>''Inland News Today'', "[http://www.inlandnewstoday.com/story.php?s=29075 Verdicts read in Murrieta murders]", 6 June 2013</ref>
On June 20, 2013, one jury returned a verdict of death against Tyrone Miller and Emrys John, and a separate jury returned a life without possibility of parole verdict as to Cox. The fourth defendant, Kesaun Sykes, was sentenced to death on November 7, 2014.<ref name="nydailynews.com"/><ref>''ABC Inland Empire News'', "[https://abc7.com/archive/9146360/ Jury chooses death for 2 ex-Marines] ", 20 June 2013</ref>
On July 19, 2013, in Riverside Superior Court, Miller was sentenced to death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Jul/20/tp-ex-marine-gets-death-sentence-for-murder/|title=The San Diego Union-Tribune - San Diego, California & National News}}</ref> On August 16, 2013, Cox and John were sentenced. Cox was sentenced to two life terms without parole.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/article/20130817/NEWS06/308170005/Former-Marine-gets-death-penalty-in-grisly-killing-of-sgt-wife |title=Former Marine gets death penalty in grisly killing of SGT., wife &#124; Marine Corps Times &#124; marinecorpstimes.com |access-date=2013-08-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820021130/http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/article/20130817/NEWS06/308170005/Former-Marine-gets-death-penalty-in-grisly-killing-of-sgt-wife |archive-date=2013-08-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Cox showed no remorse stating, "I apologize for what happened to the victims' family. I didn't say I'm sorry I did anything because I still don't feel that I did anything to be here for it." He also said he would appeal. John, the gunman, was given the death penalty. Judge Christian Theirbach called the murders savage, and the most inhuman he had seen in his 27 years on the bench.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://abc7.com/archive/9209012/ |title=Ex-Marines sentencing: 1 gets life in prison, 1 gets death &#124; abc7.com |access-date=2020-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818155746/http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news%2Flocal%2Finland_empire&id=9209012 |archive-date=2013-08-18 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[List of homicides in California]]
* [[List of death row inmates in the United States]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pietrzak, Jan Pawel and Quiana Jenkins}}
[[Category:People murdered in California]]
[[Category:Murder in Riverside County, California]]
[[Category:2008 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:American murder victims]]
[[Category:Rapes in the United States]]
[[Category:2008 in California]]
[[Category:American torture victims]]
[[Category:Deaths by person in California]]
[[Category:Sexual assaults in the United States]]
[[Category:People from Riverside County, California]]
[[Category:October 2008 crimes in the United States]]