Police: Couple killed man, burned body in front of kids

HANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Police in Northern California say a couple arrested in the torture and killing of a 70-year-old Vietnam War veteran had their children watch as they burned the man’s body.

Hanford Police Captain Karl Anderson says Stacie Mendoza and Jose Mendoza tortured Kenneth Coyle on April 5 to get him to reveal bank account information, passwords and other financial information. After torturing him, the Mendozas allegedly beat and suffocated him to death in his house.

Anderson says that a few days later the couple and their three children drove to Madera County and burned Coyle’s body while their children watched.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports the Mendozas returned to Coyle’s house last week to steal more things and were spotted by property managers, who called police.

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Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com