Text messages lead authorities to suspect in ex-model’s death

Rachael Gandal died clutching her cell phone.

Two years ago, the body of the mother and former model was found in a car behind a 7-Eleven store at Flamingo Road and Rainbow Boulevard. She had been shot four times with a .44-caliber handgun. Authorities said the text messages on her cell phone led to a suspect in her death.

Prosecutors accuse her former landlord David Robert Thomson of luring Gandal to the 7-Eleven on Dec. 6, 2007, on the pretext of buying cocaine from her. Instead, the man, who stands 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 300 pounds, exacted revenge on her for trashing a property she rented from him, prosecutors allege.

Defense attorneys contend that Gandal, a model with jet black hair who was a Maxim Hometown Hottie, was really a woman with a sordid past that finally caught up with her.

In January, prosecutors are expected to present a Clark County jury with circumstantial evidence that points to Thomson in Gandal's death. He is charged with murder with a deadly weapon and burglary with a deadly weapon.

Las Vegas homicide detectives initially had little to go on when Gandal's body was found slumped over in the driver's seat of a green car.

The lone witness said she had heard several pops before she saw a tall thin man with a hood over his face leave the passenger side of Gandal's car. The man then got into a silver vehicle with a black convertible top and drove off, the witness told police. A surveillance video later helped police identify the convertible as a Chrysler PT Cruiser.

Detective Dean O'Kelley said investigators ruled out robbery as a motive because Gandal's wallet had cash in it and a plastic bag full of cocaine was found in the vehicle.

No fingerprints or weapons were found in the car. All investigators had as a starting point was the cell phone, which had a security lock and a dead battery.

After a few days, police were able to open several text messages Gandal had received hours before her death. They indicated Gandal had gone to the convenience store for a drug deal.

A text Gandal received at 5:20 p.m. said: "This is Rick. I am in town and hoping to score some C from ya," according to court records.

Next, a price of $100 and a location was negotiated.

Gandal received another message at 9:14 p.m.: "Can you meet me behind the 7-Eleven on Flam and Rainbow in 30 minutes. I have $200. I will be in a PT Cruiser."

Investigators soon discovered the cell phone used to send the text messages to Gandal was owned by Thomson.

O'Kelley and other investigators focused on Thomson as a lead suspect and began retracing his steps.

On the evening of Dec. 6, Thomson met an "on again, off again" girlfriend named Sara Miles at a local bar. Miles testified at a preliminary hearing that Thomson was riding a motorcycle and needed her car to help move some things out of one of his properties.

Miles owned a silver PT Cruiser with a black convertible top.

About 9 p.m., Thomson and Miles drove to one his properties, a home near Flamingo and Rainbow. All the while, he was sending messages and making quick calls on his cell phone, she said. Miles did not know who Thomson had contacted.

Once at the home, they "had intimate relations," she said. Miles said Thomson undressed in front of her. She never saw a gun on him. After about 10 or 15 minutes, Thomson told Miles he had to go meet renters he was evicting and who owed him money.

Miles said Thomson borrowed her vehicle and was gone for about 20 or 30 minutes.

When Thomson returned, he told her to leave, Miles said. She said he looked calm.

The next day, Miles said Thomson called her and said he had lost his cell phone the night before. He asked whether she could look for it.

Thomson then reported it missing to his cell phone company.

According to cell phone records recovered by police, several calls were made from Thomson's cell phone to one of his friends and a former girlfriend after Gandal had been killed.

The friend and ex-girlfriend initially told investigators they had spoken with Thomson but then changed their stories, court records said.

On Dec. 8, Thomson left on a prearranged trip to Costa Rica, where he had property.

When he returned to the United States, he moved to Grand Junction, Colo.

O'Kelley said Thomson was the registered owner of several .44-caliber handguns. They were tested, but none of them was the weapon used to kill Gandal.

But detectives and prosecutors thought there was enough evidence, based on the text messages and his use of Miles' car, to arrest Thomson in March 2008.

During a preliminary hearing held in May 2008, defense attorney Daniel Albregts said prosecutors had "thin" circumstantial evidence only. Albregts said the state of Nevada's witness to the killing also said the shooter was thin, which at 300 pounds, Thomson was not.

Albregts added that the woman he had intercourse with before Gandal's death saw no gun on him. She also described him as calm.

Public defenders who now represent Thomson, said detectives did not do a thorough job during the investigation. In court documents, defense attorneys described several leads investigators did not follow, specifically Gandal's criminal history in Syracuse, N.Y.

Defense attorneys alleged in court that Gandal helped orchestrate the robbery of a Syracuse nightclub. And Gandal had testified against drug dealers in court. Defense attorneys assert that both the nightclub owners and drug dealers had motive to kill Gandal.

Moreover, Gandal was a local drug dealer with a criminal history, defense attorneys said. Police found cocaine, marijuana and pills at her home.

Gandal had gone to the 7-Eleven to sell drugs, according to court records of the preliminary hearing. Thomson, on the other hand, was not known to do drugs, the same records said.

But authorities think Thomson had motive enough to kill Gandal and lured her to the 7-Eleven by using an alias, Rick.

Prosecutor Christopher Owens said there was "bad blood" between Thomson and Gandal that began when he evicted her over an unknown dispute, according to court records.

Gandal took Thomson to court and was allowed to move back in.

Thomson evicted her again but not before she trashed the apartment and sold all the appliances that came with the property.

Thomson's trial is set to start Jan. 11 before District Judge Valerie Adair.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.