Two Charged in Beach Slaying May Fight Extradition

Two New Mexico teen-agers charged with fatally stabbing a Northridge woman at Zuma Beach in Malibu are expected to resist extradition when they appear in court in Santa Fe today, attorneys said this week.

The youths, Guillermo Bustos, 16, and Michael Loretto, 17, are charged with the May 28 murder of Jacqueline Kirkham, 43, a French-born saleswoman. They allegedly left New Mexico by bus to avoid a burglary investigation and later attacked Kirkham in a public restroom because they needed money and a car to return home, law enforcement authorities have said.

A third teen-ager who was with them, 17-year-old Jason Alexander, has not yet been charged but his role remains under investigation. “There will be charges” against Alexander, Los Angeles Deputy Dist. Atty. Harvey Giss said Monday. “The only issue is what we will be charging.”

All three youths, who face New Mexico charges of probation violation and burglary, remain in custody in a Santa Fe County juvenile detention facility.

Bustos and Loretto are to appear in court today to respond to extradition papers filed last week, Giss said.

The youths have three possible responses available to them, according to Bustos’ New Mexico attorney, Janet Clow. They can waive their right to a hearing and agree to return to California immediately--the preference of prosecutors; they can require prosecutors to produce the appropriate papers and seek their extradition through the governors of both states, which takes more time; or they can challenge the extradition and demand a hearing, an even lengthier process.

Clow said Bustos would not waive his right to a hearing, but she said a decision had not yet been made on whether her client would fight the extradition.

Loretto’s attorney could not be reached to discuss the case. But Santa Fe County Deputy Dist. Atty. Shari Weinstein said Loretto also indicated during a court appearance last week that he also would resist immediate extradition.