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Las Vegas man arrested in Utah after indictment in wife’s death

A 66-year-old man was indicted by a grand jury last week on murder charges for shooting his wife in August after she made him breakfast and coffee, court records show.

Robert Lee Marshall told Las Vegas detectives that the shooting was an accident and he merely wanted to show his wife, Dorothy Marshall, that guns were "nothing to be afraid of," a police report shows.

Marshall was free on bail and awaiting a Sept. 22 preliminary hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court when he fled to Utah, court records show. He was arrested and was in custody Friday in Utah awaiting extradition to Las Vegas to face the indictment, records show. Clark County jail records indicate he was not back in town as of Saturday.

District Judge Linda Bell set no bail for Marshall in the case after the indictment, records show. An arraignment date will be set once Marshall returns to Las Vegas.

The shooting happened about 9:30 a.m. Aug. 1, at their home at 1701 Robin St., near Vegas Drive and Simmons Street in the central valley.

Marshall said his wife made him breakfast as he loaded several guns in the spare bedroom.

She made a comment that he "spent more time with his guns than he did with her," Marshall told police.

Marshall told detectives he had a felony conviction and could not own firearms that fired cartridges, so he kept a large collection of replica black powder rifles and revolvers.

Because his wife was afraid of guns, Marshall took a revolver to the living room and told her "it was just a piece of metal" that could not hurt her unless someone pulled the trigger, the report said.

Marshall then half-cocked the hammer so the cylinder would spin.

At some point when the gun was pointed at her head, it "went off," Marshall told police.

Marshall told police he immediately put the gun down and called 911 in a panic. He also said his wife's hands were in her lap when the gun went off.

Marshall told police he and his wife had not argued before the incident and had lunch plans.

Evidence at the scene indicated Dorothy Marshall raised her left hand in a defensive position, the report said.

Police also said the gun had been re-cocked, which advanced the cylinder, and then de-cocked manually, which differed from Marshall's account.

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

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