Murder of Jan Pawel and Quiana Jenkins Pietrzak
Encyclopedia
The Murder of Jan Pawel Pietrzak and Quiana Jenkins Pietrzak relates to the events surrounding the 2008 deaths of United States Marine Corps Sergeant Jan Pawel Pietrzak (March 13, 1984 – October 15, 2008) and his 26-year-old wife Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak (c. 1982 - October 15, 2008).
who joined the 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, an African-American. Together, they owned and lived in a house in Winchester
, a census-designated place
in Riverside County
, California
, located near the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
, where Pietrzak worked.
On October 15, 2008, four African-American Marines entered the Pietrzak home, raped Jenkins-Pietrzak and tortured the couple for several hours before killing them. Two of the four accused Marines worked under Pietrzak's command. Despite efforts to convey the event as being racially motivated, Riverside County authorities maintain the motivation was robbery, and the pending murder with special circumstances and rape charges do not include an assertion that the crime was racially motivated. All four of the accused have pleaded 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, and April 3, 2009 in San Diego.
Jan Pawel Pietrzak, named after Pope John Paul II, was born in 1984 in Poland
, either in Kłodzko or in Świdnica
. 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, 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, 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, an exurb of San Diego, near Camp Pendleton, and Pietrzak remained in the Marines, working as a helicopter airframe mechanic at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
After a short skirmish, the couple were tied and gagged. Jenkins-Pietrzak was then raped as her husband was forced to watch. The couple were then tortured for several hours. Finally, both were shot in the head, execution-style. A fire was set in the home, apparently to destroy evidence of the crime. Lance Cpl. Emrys John, age 18, of Maryland, Lance Cpl. Kesuan 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. Three of the suspects claim that the shooter was 18-year-old John. 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.
ran an October 18, 2008, news brief noting that the bodies were identified on October 17. On Monday, November 3, the Sheriff's Department announced that it had four Marines under arrest for the murders. 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. 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, stating,
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 rape and the District Attorney's office will decide if to pursue death sentences. 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." 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."
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." Detectives said jewelry, a camera, and wedding gifts had been stolen, and that some of the items were found in the suspects' barracks.
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 raped, there was evidence of premeditation in the murders (as 'killin' was stated on one of the perpetrators MySpace
before the murders) and the Pietrzaks were tortured before being killed execution style. Anti-miscegenation racial epithets in the form of "Nigger Lover" were found on the wall near the master bedroom and on a bathroom mirror.. While some have claimed this was a misdirection attempt, the graffiti shows that the interracial status of the couple was on their minds.
On November 20, all four pleaded not guilty to murdering the Pietrzaks. District Attorney Rod Pacheco
on February 2, 2009, decided to pursue the death penalty against the suspects.
about what happened to her son and daughter-in-law, wondering, "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?" Petrzak-Varga has said she believes the crime was racially motivated, as her son was not well-off. Seven months later on, July 27, 2009, the Obama administration responded with generic form letter made for all soldiers killed in combat.. Once it made it to the news, the Obama administration issued an apology.. The mothers of Pietrak and Jenkins requested an audience with President Obama. In a letter to the president, the mother of slain Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak said they want to "talk how the sacrifice of Jan Pawel and Quiana could unite us." On August 17, 2009, the Commissioner on Civil Rights in Poland wrote to the U.S. Ambassador to Poland supporting this request. The U.S. ambassador responded with a short letter on August 24.
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.
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.
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.
The trial of the four was suspended on 1 February 2011 after Kesaun Sykes urinated during a court hearing. The judge ordered a psychological evaluation for Sykes. Sykes' mental competency trial began on 24 May 2011. 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.
Overview
Pietrzak was a Polish AmericanPolish American
A Polish American , is a citizen of the United States of Polish descent. There are an estimated 10 million Polish Americans, representing about 3.2% of the population of the United States...
who joined the U.S. Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
in 2003. After a tour in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
as a helicopter mechanic, Pietrzak returned to the United States, where he met and married Jenkins, an African-American. Together, they owned and lived in a house in Winchester
Winchester, California
Winchester is a census-designated place in Riverside County, California, USA. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 2,534, up from 2,155 at the 2000 census....
, a census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
in Riverside County
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, located near the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar , formerly Naval Air Station Miramar is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force...
, where Pietrzak worked.
On October 15, 2008, four African-American Marines entered the Pietrzak home, raped Jenkins-Pietrzak and tortured the couple for several hours before killing them. Two of the four accused Marines worked under Pietrzak's command. Despite efforts to convey the event as being racially motivated, Riverside County authorities maintain the motivation was robbery, and the pending murder with special circumstances and rape charges do not include an assertion that the crime was racially motivated. All four of the accused have pleaded not guilty to murdering Pietrzak and his wife.
After meeting with the families of the deceased, District Attorney Rod Pacheco
Rod Pacheco
Rodric Anthony Pacheco , usually known as Rod Pacheco, is an American politician. He served in the Riverside County District Attorney's Office as a Deputy District Attorney, Chief Deputy District Attorney, Assistant District Attorney and then as District Attorney from 2007-2010 in Riverside County,...
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, and April 3, 2009 in San Diego.
Background
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, either in Kłodzko or in Świdnica
Swidnica
Świdnica is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. It has a population of 60,317 according to 2006 figures. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh largest town in that voivodeship. From 1975–98 it was in the former Wałbrzych Voivodeship...
. 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, 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, 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, an exurb of San Diego, 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. Later, it was alleged that Tyrone Miller forced entry into the residence by pointing a shotgun at Pietrzak.After a short skirmish, the couple were tied and gagged. Jenkins-Pietrzak was then raped as her husband was forced to watch. The couple were then tortured for several hours. Finally, both were shot in the head, execution-style. A fire was set in the home, apparently to destroy evidence of the crime. Lance Cpl. Emrys John, age 18, of Maryland, Lance Cpl. Kesuan 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. Three of the suspects claim that the shooter was 18-year-old John. 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
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page.
Racial hatred, over burglary, debated as motives during arrests
Three days after the murder, the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
ran an October 18, 2008, news brief noting that the bodies were identified on October 17. On Monday, November 3, the Sheriff's Department announced that it had four Marines under arrest for the murders. 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. On November 6, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
television news journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell
Jane Velez-Mitchell
Jane Velez-Mitchell is an award winning television journalist and bestselling author. She currently has her own show on HLN, Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell . She is often seen commenting on high-profile cases for CNN, TruTV, E! and other national cable TV shows...
reported that the four Marines under arrest were African American and raised the possibility of race as a motivation, stating,
The four suspects are African-American. The woman who was murdered is African-American. Her husband is white. Is there a racial motive here that authorities are looking into? Because you can't just say it's about money when there's sexual assault.
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 rape and the District Attorney's office will decide if to pursue death sentences. Just after the release of the charges, the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
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." At about the same time, District Attorney Rod Pacheco
Rod Pacheco
Rodric Anthony Pacheco , usually known as Rod Pacheco, is an American politician. He served in the Riverside County District Attorney's Office as a Deputy District Attorney, Chief Deputy District Attorney, Assistant District Attorney and then as District Attorney from 2007-2010 in Riverside County,...
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."
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." Detectives said jewelry, a camera, and wedding gifts had been stolen, and that some of the items were found in the suspects' barracks.
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 raped, there was evidence of premeditation in the murders (as 'killin' was stated on one of the perpetrators MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
before the murders) and the Pietrzaks were tortured before being killed execution style. Anti-miscegenation racial epithets in the form of "Nigger Lover" were found on the wall near the master bedroom and on a bathroom mirror.. While some have claimed this was a misdirection attempt, the graffiti shows that the interracial status of the couple was on their minds.
On November 20, all four pleaded not guilty to murdering the Pietrzaks. District Attorney Rod Pacheco
Rod Pacheco
Rodric Anthony Pacheco , usually known as Rod Pacheco, is an American politician. He served in the Riverside County District Attorney's Office as a Deputy District Attorney, Chief Deputy District Attorney, Assistant District Attorney and then as District Attorney from 2007-2010 in Riverside County,...
on February 2, 2009, decided to pursue the death penalty against the suspects.
Correspondence and other involvement with White House
On November 11, 2008 (Veteran's Day), Pietrzak's mother, Henryka Pietrzak-Varga, wrote a letter to president-elect Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
about what happened to her son and daughter-in-law, wondering, "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?" Petrzak-Varga has said she believes the crime was racially motivated, as her son was not well-off. Seven months later on, July 27, 2009, the Obama administration responded with generic form letter made for all soldiers killed in combat.. Once it made it to the news, the Obama administration issued an apology.. The mothers of Pietrak and Jenkins requested an audience with President Obama. In a letter to the president, the mother of slain Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak said they want to "talk how the sacrifice of Jan Pawel and Quiana could unite us." On August 17, 2009, the Commissioner on Civil Rights in Poland wrote to the U.S. Ambassador to Poland supporting this request. The U.S. ambassador responded with a short letter on August 24.
Criminal trials
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.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.
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.
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.
The trial of the four was suspended on 1 February 2011 after Kesaun Sykes urinated during a court hearing. The judge ordered a psychological evaluation for Sykes. Sykes' mental competency trial began on 24 May 2011. 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.