18-Year-Old Tells Judge He ‘Panicked,’ Fatally Stabbed Woman : Crimes: He was 16 when the Northridge resident was slain at Zuma Beach. Teen-ager has waived a jury trial.

An 18-year-old New Mexico youth told sheriff’s investigators in a taped statement played Monday in Santa Monica Superior Court that he stabbed a Northridge woman twice with an eight-inch knife last year at Zuma Beach because he panicked when he heard her scream.

Guillermo Bustos, then 16, had fled New Mexico with two friends to avoid questioning by authorities after the burglary of a bar there in May, 1991, according to the statement, which was played Monday on the first day of Bustos’ murder trial.

What began as an attempt by the three youths to hide from investigators in New Mexico ended in the stabbing death of Jacqueline A. Kirkham, 43, so they could steal her car and return home, Bustos testified.

“I stuck her once . . . and she was still screaming,” Bustos said on the tape. “I stabbed her again and started running to her car.”

Bustos, now 18, is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree robbery, use of a deadly weapon and a special circumstance of lying in wait in the May 28, 1991, murder of Kirkham in a restroom, according to previous testimony.

Facing similar charges is Michael Loretto, also 18, who will be tried separately. Bustos waived a jury trial last week, and his case is being heard by Superior Court Judge David Perez.

The third youth has not been charged.

Kirkham, who had spent the day sunning herself on the beach, was killed when she entered the restroom to change her clothes, according to testimony.

Earlier, after the youths had spent three days at Zuma Beach “without eating or drinking anything,” Loretto began to plan how they could return home, Bustos said.

They watched Kirkham for a few hours and Bustos said Loretto told him, “Let’s just pop her,” referring to Kirkham.

When Bustos asked why her, Loretto responded, “ ‘Cause of her car,” according to Bustos. The youths had seen Kirkham arrive in a 1990 Nissan 240SX sports car, Bustos said.

Loretto followed Kirkham into the restroom, where she struggled, bit him on the finger and screamed, Bustos said on the tape.

“I was chickening out until I heard her scream and then I panicked,” he said. Bustos said he grabbed a knife belonging to the third youth and ran into the restroom, where he stabbed Kirkham twice.

Loretto grabbed Kirkham’s purse and he and Bustos ran from the restroom, according to the tape. They found the keys in her purse and stole the car, with Bustos driving to Barstow, where Loretto took the wheel, according to Bustos’ statement.

Bustos said the third youth, Jason Alexander, 18, flagged down a man outside Laughlin, Nev., who agreed to pawn two of Kirkham’s rings. The teen-agers were underage and did not have identification, Bustos said.

John Wilson, of Bullhead City, Ariz., testified Monday that he pawned the rings for $100 and kept $20. He identified the rings and Bustos, as well as Kirkham’s car, from photographs.

Bustos and Loretto were arrested after Kirkham’s car was involved in an accident in New Mexico shortly after the killing, sheriff’s investigators from Los Angeles and Santa Fe testified.