The man accused of killing two Twentynine Palms women is in a Joshua Tree courtroom today, as the prosecution lays out its case against him in a preliminary hearing. Law enforcement officials believe Rafael Aikens, 22, a machine-gunner attached to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment aboard the Combat Center, shot and killed Christy McKissic, 32, and her mother Renee Metcalf, 62, in their home in the 7700 block of Bedouin Avenue just after midnight, March 24. Rafael Aikens is being held in jail on $3.5 million bail.
