Third person arrested in killing of Marine's wife

Brittany Dawn KillgoreA third person was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of involvement in the death of 22-year-old Brittany Dawn Killgore, the wife of a Marine at Camp Pendleton.
Dorothy Grace Marie Maraglino, 36, was arrested in a hotel in downtown San Diego by San Diego County Sheriff's Department homicide deputies and Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents.
Staff Sgt. Louis Perez, 45, and Jessica Lynn Lopez, 25, have already been charged. Killgore's body was found dumped near Lake Skinner in Riverside County. Perez and Lopez have pleaded not guilty and are each being held on $3.5 million bail.
Investigators declined to reveal what role they believe Maraglino may have played. Like Perez, Lopez and Killgore, Maraglino lived in Fallbrook.
Killgore's blood was found in Perez's vehicle, along with a weapon, prosecutors have said. Lopez was arrested in a San Diego motel April 17 after attempting suicide; hours after her arrest, Killgore's body was located.
Killgore had been set to attend a dinner cruise in San Diego with Perez and an unidentified girlfriend on April 13 but instead sent a text message to a friend saying she was in "distress" and needed help. Perez was the last person seen with Killgore.
Killgore had filed for divorce from her husband, Lance Cpl. Cory Killgore, just days before she disappeared and was preparing to move to Missouri, where she has family. Her husband was serving in Afghanistan but has returned to the U.S. on emergency leave arranged by the Red Cross.
He and Perez served at Camp Pendleton.
-- Tony Perry in San Diego
Photo: Brittany Dawn Killgore. Credit: San Diego County Sheriff's Department

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