Bail revoked, murder charges filed against accused child killer
Brenda Stokes, accused of killing a 10-year-old girl, has "blood on her hands," a prosecutor told a Las Vegas judge Wednesday.
The 50-year-old blackjack dealer, dressed in navy blue jail scrubs with her arms and ankles chained and surrounded by corrections officers, showed little emotion during a 20-minute hearing during which prosecutors detailed some of the evidence against her.
Stokes is charged with killing 10-year-old Jade Morris and slashing a blackjack dealer at the Bellagio in possible retaliation against her fiance over a suspected affair.
The child's body was found last week in an undeveloped residential subdivision in North Las Vegas. She had been stabbed 40 times, the Review-Journal has learned.
Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis revoked Stokes' bail after veteran prosecutor Robert Daskas described how DNA analysis found Jade's blood on the steering wheel and door handle of the car Stokes was driving when the child disappeared last month. The child's blood also was found on Stokes' clothing.
Daskas filed an amended criminal complaint charging Stokes with murder with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, attempted murder, battery, mayhem and burglary.
Defense attorney Tony Liker, who previously represented the Stokes family in a car accident case, said his client was innocent and asked Lippis to lower Stokes' bail.
"She's a wonderful woman and I just can't believe that she did this. And I don't believe that she did this," Liker said.
He said there are other suspects in the case, including Jade's mother and father.
"The people who are pointing the finger at my client are suspects, and one of them has a horrible criminal history," Liker said.
He said Jade's father, Philip Morris, has a lengthy criminal history, including arrests for domestic violence.
However, court records indicate Morris has one felony conviction of attempted grand larceny dating to 2002, after which he successfully completed a court-sponsored drug treatment program.
After the hearing, Jade's mother, Tejuana Reeves, responded to Liker's accusations.
"I'm not worried about that. I'm not worried about that at all. They can say what they want," she said.
Liker said Stokes doesn't meet the profile of somebody who would kill a young girl, because she has no criminal convictions, as a teenager she witnessed domestic violence between her parents, and she has overcome racism that still exists in the world.
Liker, who said he received a "very small retainer" to take the case, asked whether Stokes could come to court in street clothes and wear a wig. The unusual request for a felony case in Justice Court was quickly denied by Lippis for security reasons.
Jade had been missing since Dec. 21, when Stokes picked her up from Reeves' home, saying they were going Christmas shopping.
Stokes was engaged to Jade's father and had a close relationship with the girl over the past several years.
But just a few hours later, authorities say, Stokes approached a Bellagio blackjack table and began slashing the face of a dealer, 44-year-old Joyce Rhone.
Rhone survived the attack, and Stokes was arrested, but Jade was nowhere to be found. The girl's body was found Dec. 27 by a person walking a dog.
Jade's family suspected that a love triangle involving Stokes, Rhone and Morris had imploded and Stokes harmed Jade to retaliate against her fiance.
A preliminary hearing was set for March 28, when Lippis will determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to take the case to trial. Prosecutors also could seek an indictment through a grand jury.
A public viewing for Jade will be held Friday night at Palm Mortuary on Jones Boulevard, near Oakey Boulevard. A funeral is set for Wednesday.
Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@
review journal.com or 702-380-1039.
