Kurt was born on December 9th, 1966, in San Diego, California to Tommy Keith McFall and Joan Marjorie Svoboda. His parents had divorced, and he was living in a town house in Concord with his dad.
In high school, Kurt was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism and they'd hang out, dressed in costumes and practice sword fighting in the parking lot of an Oakland subway station.
By the time his senior year came around Kurt was getting more and more into SCA. He was really into the accoutrements of SCA, including his sword and suit of armor and unbeknownst to his father, joined a separate, paganist group headed by a much older man named Gabriel "Cardadoc" Carrillo.
On Saturday, September 8th, 1984, Kurt drove from his home in across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. He told his father he was staying with a friend and would be home the next evening. Unfortunately, Kurt would never make it back home.
The person that Kurt had went to go see was Carrillo. According to Carrillo the two had dinner and went to a movie. At around midnight, Kurt went swimming at Ocean Beach, a few blocks from Carrillo's apartment. They then went back to the apartment. Kurt was restless and unable to sleep. At around 3 a.m., he left the apartment, claiming that he was headed back to Ocean Beach.
The next evening Kurt’s car was found abandoned on a golf course overlooking the ocean. Kurt’s driver’s license was on the floor and his car keys were on the seat. A $20 bill was in the glove compartment and the suit of armor which Kurt had made for sword fighting was missing from the trunk. There were also beer bottles scattered in, and around, the car.
At 10:15 a.m. on that Monday, two men were birdwatching when they spotted a half naked and bruised body on a remote beach below the cliffs of San Francisco Bay. This was bellow where Kurt's car had been found and less than two miles from Carrillo's apartment. The body turned out to be Kurt.
Kurt's body was in fairly good condition, fairly pale, which indicated that he probably was in the water for an extended period of time. No obvious external trauma. He had no shoes, socks or shirt. His back and shoulders were covered with cuts and abrasions. The belt he wore was missing its buckle. The autopsy stated that there was no drugs or alcohol in his system. It also stated that Kurt died of multiple traumatic injuries of unknown origins as well as severe blood loss, which was said to be consistent with a fall. Kurt's cause of death has been ruled as "known".
Kurt's dad knew there was foul play involved:
“Kurt told a friend of his that he was involved in some kind of Satanic cult and that he wanted out, but he thought that they might try to kill him. He really feared for his life. It was a murder. It needs to be investigated. There’s no doubt in my mind that Kurt could’ve handled himself in that cliff area because he was an experienced mountain climber and he was a diver. So he would not have drowned in the water or fallen down the hill.”
Kurt's dad also talked to the coroner and asked him with he think happened. The coroner told him that he thought that Kurt's death appeared to be a homicide, but that he did not have enough proof to rule it as such.
Two months after Kurt's death, a woman contacted police fearing for her life. She claimed to have been involved in a "coven" and named two people who were threatening her. These same two people were allegedly named by Kurt in a letter one month before his death. He allegedly stated in the letter that the two were "evil beyond belief".
Thomas and some of Kurt's friends believe that Kurt stumbled onto something the cult wanted to keep secret and was killed because of it.
Carrillo denied any involvement in Kurt's death. He passed away in 2007.
Kurt's death remains unsolved.
