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On Monday, a Hanford Police Department spokesperson declared that a California couple was arrested and booked into county jail on homicide and defrauding charges. The two allegedly befriended a Vietnam veteran, stole his assets, killed him, and attempted to burn the body before escaping country.
Vietnam Veteran Shared Financial Information with California Couple
According to the police records, Kenneth Coyle, a 70-year-old Vietnam war veteran a Lemoore Naval Air Station contractor, was sitting in a Hanford restaurant several months ago when he started chatting with Stacie Mendoza, his waitress.
Mendoza befriended Coyle, and soon after that, the woman introduced him to Jose Mendoza, her husband. Before the Vietnam veteran invited the California couple to his home, Stacie manipulated his victim into disclosing financial information.
Based on the suspects’ testimony, on the 5th of April, Stacie took her husband and two children and drove to Coyle’s home. Once there, the California couple pummeled the Vietnam war veteran while their children were watching.
Allegedly, the couple stopping hitting Coyle after realizing that he’s no longer breathing. A cold-blooded Jose would take Coyle’s couple and helped by his wife, burn the veteran’s remains.
According to the Hanford Police Department, Stacie and Jose were arrested by the authorities after the two showed up at the victim’s house, several days after committing the murder.
The property manager contacted the police after seeing the California couple entering Coyle’s apartment, clearly with the intent to retrieve more of his personal items.
Conclusion
After being taken into custody, the authorities discovered that the couple was planning on stealing Coyle’s last dime before fleeing the country. A search revealed plane tickets to El Salvador and that Mendoza has been using Coyle’s credit card to pay for meals and other road expenses.
Their children were taken into protective custody. The couple was charged with first-degree murder.
Image source: Flickr
