Police: Man killed mom, sister and stayed in house with bodies

For several days after butchering his mother and sister, authorities said, Darius Davon Sorrells lived in the family’s North Las Vegas home with their decomposing bodies.

It’s still unclear why Sorrells, 30, killed his family, North Las Vegas police said. But the killings likely happened last week, long before the bodies were found, Sgt. Chrissie Coon said Tuesday.

Coon said it appeared the victims’ last contact with friends and family was either Wednesday or Thursday.

Natasha Sorrells, 34, and Janice Burden, 53, were reported missing by concerned friends and colleagues on Friday. Their names haven’t been released by the Clark County coroner’s office, but family, neighbors and police confirmed the missing women were killed.

Officers made several welfare checks over the weekend at the home at 6120 Stibor Street, near Lamb Boulevard and Tropical Parkway, but didn’t discover the bodies until early Monday morning after an officer found an open back door and went inside.

It took more than 14 hours for authorities to determine what had happened — including the number of victims. Coon said Darius Sorrells had dismembered one of the women, although she couldn’t say if it was his mother or sister.

Coon said she couldn’t say what weapons were used in the killings, but a gun was not used.

The Clark County coroner’s office visited the home several times Monday to collect body parts, Coon said.

Once detectives determined the identity of the dead, they quickly turned their attention toward Sorrells, who also lived at the home. It didn’t take police long to find him — he was already their custody.

Coon said Sorrells was arrested on Saturday, two days before the bodies were found, after a routine traffic stop turned into a high-speed pursuit. Coon said Sorrells was arrested on drunken driving and 10 other misdemeanor charges after he fled from police and crashed his car near Tropical and Losee Road.

Sorrells was re-booked on murder charges Monday at the Las Vegas Detention Center. He spoke with detectives, Coon said, although she didn’t say more about the interview.

“That’s still part of the investigation,” she said.

Coon said the motive for the killing was unclear. Neighbors and relatives of the dead women told police that Sorrells was mentally unstable.

Neighbor Sheldon Jacobs told the Review-Journal the family was pretty “quiet,” although he suspected Sorrells had mental problems.

“As bad as this might sound, I wasn’t surprised,” Jacobs said. “That was the kind of vibe I got from this guy.”

Another neighbor told the Review-Journal that Sorrells would often peer into the windows of other houses.

“He creeped everybody out,” said the neighbor, who did not want to be identified.

Although Sorrells did not have a local criminal record, Coon said, he had been arrested in other cities. She said she couldn’t comment on those details and Sorrells’ full criminal history was not immediately available.

Photojournalist Justin Yurkanin contributed to this report. Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com. Follow @blasky on Twitter.