Teen accused of killing SLO County woman had car key, blood on boots, investigators say
After a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office investigation tied him to the murder of an Arroyo Grande woman at her rural home, a Fresno teenager allegedly asked repeatedly “How did you know it was me?”
Kayonie Eliaz Mendibles, 19, appeared in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court for a preliminary hearing on Thursday.
Mendibles has pleaded not guilty to murder with a sentencing enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon, a belt. He was being held in San Luis Obispo County Jail custody in lieu of $1 million bail as of Friday morning.
Jeanine Vore was found dead at her 10-acre property on the 2000 block of Chamisal Lane. on Nov. 27, 2020. The 77-year-old woman was strangled to death and suffered traumatic head injuries, Sheriff’s Office Det. Gregory Smith testified Thursday.
Mendibles acknowledged being at Vore’s home that day and had Vore’s car key fob in his pocket, Smith said on the witness stand.
Smith said he interviewed Mendibles, who was 18 at the time, for about three hours after he was arrested at a traffic stop.
According to the investigator, the teen said multiple times, “How did you know it was me?”
The motive for Vore’s murder remains unclear.
Asked why she was killed, Mendibles responded by saying that he “knew why but wouldn’t give specifics,” Smith testified during questioning from Deputy District Attorney Christopher Peuvrelle.
Smith said Mendibles vaguely remarked in the interview that he had “overstayed his welcome.”
Superior Court Judge Tim Covello ruled Thursday that sufficient evidence was presented for the case to proceed to trial.
Investigator: Neighbor identified murder defendant
According to Smith, a neighbor identified Mendibles as the person seen fleeing from the residence in the afternoon.
That neighbor, Rick Lessel, said on the witness stand that he saw a red Chevrolet sedan parked in his driveway area with an open hood and jumper cables the afternoon that Vore was found dead.
Lessel said he saw a young man with shaggy black hair dressed in a jean jacket and white shirt jump the fence into Vore’s yard.
Lessel testified that Vore had several animals on her property, including four dogs, two mules and horses and donkeys.
Later, Lessel said, he saw the man flee in the Chevy after Lessel asked him from a distance if he needed help.
Lessel testified that he called 911 twice that afternoon to report the car parked on his property and seeing a person enter his neighbor’s property.
A Sheriff’s Office official later escorted Lessel to the traffic stop about midnight, where he identified Mendibles after asking deputies if he could remove a jumpsuit, Lessel said on the witness stand.
“I’m 100% certain it was the same guy” that jumped into Vore’s yard,” Lessel testified.
Defense: Did neighbor see Fresno teen’s face?
Mendibles’ attorney, Trace Milan, asked Lessel if he ever saw his client’s face during the alleged trespassing.
Lessel said that he had not seen his face but was still certain of the identification based on his clothes.
Blood stains were found on a staircase area and inside the home, where Vore was discovered by investigators, Smith testified.
Sheriff’s Office investigators found blood on Mendibles’ boots, a separate Sheriff’s Office investigator said Thursday on the witness stand.
Vore’s phone was found, through cell signal pings, on another street in her neighborhood, according to Smith.
Milan asked Smith if a Sheriff’s Office investigator made a comment that the crime scene indicated “self aid” or “self help,” meaning that Vore was trying to recover on her own after an attack. Smith said that the comment was made during the course of the crime scene investigation.
A further arraignment has been scheduled for Nov. 18 in Superior Court.
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