Father arrested in June fire deaths of three children

The father of one of three children killed in a June Las Vegas mobile home fire was arrested Sunday on murder and child neglect charges, jail records show.

Shane Gouailhardou, 22, was being held on $600,000 bail at the Clark County Detention Center after he was indicted last week on three counts each of second-degree murder and child abuse and neglect.

Part of the evidence in the case included a toxicology report that showed the parents were high on methamphetamine at the time of the fire, prosecutors said.

Amy Hatzenpiller, 26, was not in custody as of late Monday morning, records show.

Prosecutors have called the case horrific and "an extreme example of neglect."

David Gouailhardou, 2, Skylar Lafia, 2, and Aryana Lafia, 1, died June 15 at Van's Trailer Oasis, 3610 Las Vegas Blvd. North, near Lamb Boulevard.

The cause of their deaths was smoke inhalation, and the manner of their deaths was ruled undetermined, according to the Clark County coroner's office.

If convicted of the charges, Hatzenpiller and Gouailhardou could face 10-year-to-life prison terms on each murder count and two- to 20-year prison terms on the child abuse and neglect counts.

The children were sleeping in their home when the fire started about 10:20 a.m., fire officials said.

Hatzenpiller, the mother of Skylar and Aryana, and Gouailhardou, David's father, escaped the fire.

Neighbors tried to rescue the children and questioned how the parents could leave them behind.

By the time firefighters had the blaze under control, the children were dead, and two mobile homes were destroyed.

Agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Clark County fire investigators and Las Vegas police all investigated the case.

The federal agents think the fire was caused by a smoldering cigarette but acknowledge there is a small probability it might have been caused by one or more of the children playing with a lighter.

Hatzenpiller had a lengthy history of contact with the Clark County Department of Family Services before the fire, records show.

In April, child welfare workers investigated an abuse allegation involving her children. They ruled the case unsubstantiated because the alleged perpetrator did not care for or have custody of the children, according to the report. The case was closed May 7.

Hatzenpiller faced four neglect allegations in 2005 and 2006 involving another child. Three were investigated and deemed unsubstantiated by child welfare workers. The fourth allegation came from out of state, and county investigators closed the case because they could not find the family.

In June 2011, child protective services received an abuse allegation involving David Gouailhardou. But the information in the allegation was not enough to start an investigation, and the case was closed as "information only," according to the report.

Shane Gouailhardou had contact with the agency in 2006 as a 16-year-old victim of neglect. The allegation was substantiated, and he was made a ward of the county until his family completed its case plan in 2009.

Gouailhardou, who has a history of minor drug arrests, was charged in August with possession of methamphetamine and has a case pending in North Las Vegas Justice Court, records show.

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