Former 29 Palms Marine convicted for murder of two women

A former Twentynine Palms Marine has been convicted for the murder of two women in the High Desert in 2017.

24-year-old Rafael Ari Aikens was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the killings of 62-year-old Renee Metcalf and 32-year-old Christy McKissic. Aikens fatally shot McKissic and Metcalf on March 24, 2017, and was arrested on suspicion of the murders at the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center on March 30, 2017.

The jury also found several special circumstance allegations, relating to the committing of multiple murders of first or second degree and the discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury, to be true. The special circumstance allegations are sentence-enhancing.

On the evening of the killings, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a residence on the 7700 block of Bedouin Avenue in Twentynine Palms after a 911 call went into dispatch reporting two people deceased in the home. The call went in at 12:03 a.m. and deputies responded at 12:08 a.m.

Upon arrival, deputies found Metcalf and McKissic dead with multiple gunshot wounds. An unharmed 10-year-old was also found in the residence.

A booking photo for Aikens was not provided by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.