Trial nears for Marine accused of murdering Navy vet

A trial date of June 22 has been set for Marine Corporal Kevin Albert Richard Coset, 25, who will face a charge of first-degree murder in the 2012 death of US Navy veteran and Army Reserve officer Alvin Bulaoro, 24, of Fallbrook.

Bulaoro was reported missing by his family on Dec. 21, 2012. According to investigators, Coset and Bulaoro were reportedly communicating with each other on Dec. 20 and 21 via phone and text messaging and agreed to meet the night of Dec. 21. It is believed that the two men met in a Fallbrook parking lot, then went to a nearby motel, which Coset reportedly paid for by credit card.

Bulaoro's body was discovered inside his sport utility vehicle, zipped up in a sleeping bag, 13 days later, on Jan. 3, 2013 in the Albertsons grocery store parking lot, near the corner of Ammunition Rd. and South Mission Rd.

The savage attack on Bulaoro included his throat being slit almost from ear-to-ear, being shot twice in the head, and sustaining over 40 stab wounds to his head and torso.

Coset, who was stationed at Camp Pendleton at the time, was arrested approximately six weeks later on Feb. 22, 2013. Authorities reportedly found a journal that Coset had written in that included information about the killing.

Since his arrest, Coset has been held on $5 million bail. He is pleading not guilty to the murder charge.

At the time of his death, Bulaoro was working as an administrator in a family-owned home healthcare business.