The Murder of Kelly Bullwinkle
For this case I watched an episode of Betrayed. It’s season 3 episode 7, titled ‘Pretty In Black.’
An 18 year old is killed in Redlands, California.
Background
Kelly Bullwinkle
Kelly Bullwinkle was 18 years old at the time she died. Her parents divorced when she was young, and she was raised by her mom Diana, who was in the Coast Guard. Kelly had a lot of independence at home while her mom was away, but they were still close and talked as much as they could.
Kelly was a college student at Crafton Hills College, and was described as a beautiful, bubbly, outgoing, artistic and athletic. She was also incredibly hardworking, and worked part-time at a restaurant called Baker’s Drive Thru.
The Wrong Crowd
During her high school years, Kelly struggled to fit in. She was good friends with a few other misfits named Damien, Kinzie and Elody.
Kinzie Noordman was described as an outspoken goth, and was Kelly’s best friend. Damien Guerrero was described as tall, dark and handsome. He was also very arrogant, which is what several girls were attracted to. Elody Romero was Damien’s girlfriend, who dressed very edgy. It was rumored that Elody and Kelly didn’t like each other, due to the fact that they both liked Damien.
Kelly had a major crush on Damien, but he was a different person when he was around the rest of their friends. He was mean and cold when he was around everyone else, but nice and sweet when it was just the two of them. Damien knew that Kelly liked him, but he never had intentions of ending his relationship with Elody.
All About A Boy
In August 2003, just a few months before Kelly’s death, she reached out to Elody over Instant Messaging. She told Elody that she and Damien had met up. Elody told Kelly to back off, and that she wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to her.
Kelly felt alone and depressed. She liked a boy that was never going to like her back, and her friends weren’t very nice to her either. She spent the time she had writing in her journal, and speaking to her mom when she could. Unfortunately, her mom never knew what kind of pain or danger Kelly was actually in.
The Disappearance
On September 15, 2003, Kelly was reported missing after no one had seen her for a few days.
During the search for Kelly, Kinzie told the police that Kelly was into drugs, and would contact some sketchy people to get them. Kinzie gave the police the names of a few local drug dealers, their names were Jim Duncan and Bob Kirkland. They just so happened to be in custody for an unrelated car theft, and the police wanted to speak to them.
The Drug Dealers
Jim and Bob were both brought in for questioning. They told the police that they didn’t actually kill Kelly, and that it was all talk. They said they had an alibi, they were committing crimes all over Redlands, including burglaries and a sexual assault.
The police obtained a warrant to search their home. In the home, the police found bloody clothes. Jim and Bob ended up not being Kelly’s killers, but they were still career criminals.
The Discovery
Kelly’s mom, family and friends were heartbroken. They continued to search for Kelly, by putting up posters and speaking to the media.
The search for Kelly paid off, because her body was discovered on October 4, 2003. Three men who were paintballing in a part of town called the ‘Ghost Town,’ discovered evidence of a body sticking out from the ground.
It was confirmed at the autopsy that it was Kelly’s body. She was found in a shallow grave, and had been shot twice, once in the front of her head and the other grazed the side of her head. A .25 caliber shell casing was also found in the grave that Kelly was found in.
The police had to break the news to Kelly’s family.
A New Suspect
While the police searched Kelly’s house, they took her computer. On the computer were hundreds of Instant Messaging exchanges, including the very threatening one from Elody.
The police brought Elody in for questioning. Elody appeared to have been upset, and told the police that she cared about Kelly. Even though Elody threatened Kelly, she was eventually ruled by her alibi.
While the police were searching for new leads, they found out from the friend of Kelly, and cousin of Kinzie, that Damien had a gun.
Damien was brought in for questioning. The police asked him what he did on the night of September 13. Damien said he went to a movie with Kinzie that ended at 11pm, he dropped Kinize off, and then went to Elody’s. Next, the police asked Damien if he had a gun. He said no, until the police confronted him with the information they had received about him having one. He then said it was his brother’s gun, and that he tossed it in a gutter.
The police went to the home of the friend of Damien’s brother, where Damien said his purchased the gun. This friend named Josh, was asked about the gun, and he said it was .25 caliber. The police asked Josh if he had fired the gun before he sold it, and Josh said yes about a year before he sold it.
In Josh’s backyard, the police found three .25 caliber shell casings that looked very similar to the one found at Kelly’s crime scene.
A Murderous Plot
The police asked Kinzie to come in for questioning, to ask her about the night of September 13. Kinzie said that she was with Kelly on that night, and they were at Ghost Town waiting for Damien to show up. Kinzie knew that Damien was going to scare Kelly with a gun, and that they had planned it together.
The police knew she was hiding something, and they told her to tell them what else happened. Kinzie said that she and Kelly had waited awhile for Damien, and were going to leave, until he showed up.
Then, she said she and Damien walked Kelly to the hole that they had dug just a few days before. Damien shot Kelly, and she fell to the ground. Kinzie said she told Damien to give her the gun because Kelly was making noises, but it jammed. When she finally got the gun to work again, she walked up to Kelly and shot her at close range. They then went to the movies to establish an alibi.
This information came out later, but Kinzie and Damien then traded rings like in the movie Natural Born Killers. They planned this, and wanted Kelly dead.
Kinzie Noordman and Damien Guerrero were both arrested.
Convictions
The deadly duo had the same trial, but with separate jurors.
Kinzie was convicted of first degree murder on March 9, 2005, and was sentenced to 45 years to life.
Damien eventually pleaded guilty to second degree murder. He was sentenced to 15 years to life.
The two never showed remorse, and each blamed each other for what happened.
Damien Guerrero
Kinzie Noordman
Other
Damien was up for parole in 2020, but it was denied.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This case was heartbreaking. Kelly was a completely innocent person, a person who just wanted to fit in. Her life was stolen by someone she thought was her best friend, and another someone who she had a crush on. They are monsters for doing this to their friend, and not giving one single fuck for what they did.
Thank God Damien’s parole was denied. He doesn’t deserve to get out, and I think his sentence was too light. Kinzie is up for parole soon too, and she deserves to be locked up forever too. I 100% think these people would do it again, if they killed their friend, who knows what else they would do.
Sources
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-may-14-me-bullwinkle14-story.html
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jan-27-me-bullwinkle27-story.html
