Publication Date: Friday, December 10, 2004
Mother grieves after son's death in Mexico
Mother grieves after son's death in Mexico
(December 10, 2004) Suspected killer knew victim since kindergarten
by Don Kazak
Heather White of Palo Alto was scheduled to fly to Mexico Wednesday to retrieve the body of her son, Micah Kuhlman, 23, a former Palo Alto High School student who was stabbed to death late last week while fishing near Ensenada.
Another 23-year-old Paly graduate, Jamal Kytle, has been arrested by Mexican police on suspicion of killing Kuhlman.
The grief-stricken White, who is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer, was at a loss as to how a reunion vacation with boyhood friends could turn into such a tragedy.
White said her son, who lived in Santa Cruz and operated his own hauling and landscaping business, had planned to take a fishing and camping vacation in Mexico and three other friends. Kytle heard about the trip and asked to go.
White said she was told by American consulate officials that Kuhlman and Kytle were fishing off a rock jetty near Ensenada when Kytle allegedly took a fishing knife and stabbed Kuhlman in his heart "for an unknown reason."
Kytle "had known all of them since kindergarten, but he had been in a bad way, on meth (methamphetamine) and homeless," White said. She added that Kytle had been estranged from his parents.
"He showed up before Thanksgiving and wanted to make amends, and begged to go with them," White said of Kytle. She said Kytle declined a Thanksgiving-dinner invitation, had left a treatment program, and was on probation.
White said Kytle visited his parents before they left, and that Kytle's parents gave Kuhlman $200 in spending and gas money for their son.
The two young men left for Mexico last week, with the other three friends to join them later.
White is planning a private gathering for Kuhlman's friends from Paly, and possibly a more public remembrance after the holidays.
"He had started his own business," White said of her son. "People liked him, he was personable. He said he would never do anything he didn't want to do, because life is too short."
White said she will have her son's body cremated in Mexico and have his ashes scattered at some of his favorite places, including Davenport north of Santa Cruz, where he liked to surf; at a former family home in Lopez Island, Wash.; and in Baja California, where he liked to go camping.
Senior staff writer Don Kazak can be e-mailed at dkazak@paweekly.com. This story originally appeared on www.PaloAltoOnline.com.
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