BRUTAL SLAYING STUNS FRIENDS FOUR ARRESTED; MOTIVE STILL UNEXPLAINED.

Byline: Marci Wormser Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Neighbors of 61-year-old William Whiteside say they are stunned by his brutal slaying, and perplexed by the arrests of the woman he lived with, her teenage son, another teenager and an ex-convict.

Whiteside, an Antelope Valley Hospital maintenance worker whose battered body was found March 10 inside the trunk of his burned car, was well-liked and friendly, neighbors said.

``He was the nicest man,'' said Liz Fuzak, assistant manager of Lido Estates, the mobile-home park where Whiteside lived for 12 years. ``The neighbors all know him. He was really reliable and friendly. He was one of the nicest people around. He talked to everybody.''

Whiteside's slaying - and the possible motive behind it - has been the main topic of conversation among Lido Estates residents, especially among the tight-knit group of longtime park dwellers, she said.

`There has to be a motive,'' Fuzak said. ``I just don't know what it is.''

Detectives will not say what they think motivated the slaying of Whiteside, whom authorities believe was knocked out and put into the trunk of his car, which was then set afire on an Antelope Valley road.

Coroner's officials say Whiteside died from thermal burns, smoke inhalation and other injuries, including head injuries.

Valerie Martin, the 35-year-old woman who lived with Whiteside, her 16-year-old son, a 14-year-old boy and 27-year-old ex-convict Christopher Kenney are in custody in connection with the slaying. Martin also is an ex-convict, with a state prison record for a drug conviction.

The two teens, whose names are not being released because of their ages, were arrested March 10. Martin was arrested March 12. When investigators began searching for Kennedy, a Lancaster resident, they found he had been arrested Feb. 28 on a separate parole violation.

Kennedy and the 14-year-old were associates of Martin's 16-year-old son, prosecutor Daviann Mitchell said. She declined to comment on what may have motivated the killing.

Martin and Kennedy are charged with murder, robbery, kidnapping, arson and conspiracy.

According to California Department of Corrections records, Martin spent just more than three months in prison on a Kern County conviction for possession of a controlled substance. She was paroled in March 1999.

Department of Corrections records indicate that Kennedy was sent to prison twice for grand theft convictions, in November 1995 and September 2000. He was paroled most recently last September.

According to Fuzak, Martin and her teenage son had lived with Whiteside in his mobile home for seven or eight months. Fuzak said she did not know Kennedy or the other boy.

Whiteside was the father of grown children and had been separated from his wife for about two years, Fuzak said.

``I was under the impression (Martin) was his girlfriend,'' Fuzak said. ``I didn't really know her that well. She kept to herself.''

Fuzak said the victim and Martin met through their jobs at the hospital, where Martin worked in housekeeping.

According to the assistant manager, Whiteside was last seen by park residents when he went outside to check his mail.

Mobile-home park resident Lori Dunham said Whiteside will be sorely missed by his neighbors.

Residents placed wreaths and flowers in a makeshift memorial on the fence in front of Whiteside's mobile home and erected a cross on the roadside where his car was found.

``He was great,'' Dunham said, ``He always stopped to talk to everyone and to say hi.''

Dunham described her neighbor as having a good sense of humor and an affinity for practical jokes.

``Every time he came down to the office, he always had a hug and a smile for everyone,'' she said.

Whiteside was last seen Feb. 27 and was reported missing by his wife two days later, according to coroner's records. On Feb. 27, his burned car was found on a street. Sheriff's deputies had it towed to a local tow yard.

On March 10, arson investigators arrived to search the car and discovered Whiteside's burned body in the trunk.