Pimp charged in 2006 death of Las Vegas prostitute initially ruled a suicide

Nearly seven years after the apparent suicide of Chantell Hollowell in Las Vegas, her former boyfriend has been charged with her slaying.

Shaun Leflore, 32, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon on murder charges stemming from Hollowell’s death on Dec. 16, 2006.

Detectives had investigated Hollowell’s death as a suicide after initial interviews with Leflore, who told police he watched Hollowell shoot herself.

Now, police believe that Leflore shot and killed Hollowell and attempted to make it look like she killed herself.

Hollowell had moved to Las Vegas with Leflore, who pimped her out as a prostitute, the report said.

Friends and family members told police Leflore physically abused Hollowell and had confronted him about it in the past. They questioned Leflore’s assertion that Hollowell was suicidal, stating that she wanted to leave Leflore and planned to take classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Hollowell was found dead with a single gunshot wound to her right temple.

At the time he was investigated in connection with Hollowell’s death, Leflore was serving a 13-year sentence in Mississippi for assaulting and pimping another woman, Stacey Nunez, in California about a year after Hollowell’s death.

According to Las Vegas police reports, Leflore, armed with a gun and a knife, had threatened to kill Nunez several times. In one instance, Leflore, while laying on top of her, held a gun to Nunez’s temple and said he would kill her if they weren’t in a friend’s apartment.

Leflore then made Nunez go to the living room and undress, put a gun in her mouth, and poured alcohol over her before passing out, the report said.

While investigating the Nunez assault, police in Riverside, Calif., learned of Leflore’s prior involvement with Hollowell. In 2010, they contacted Las Vegas police, prompting them to reopen the Hollowell case.

Upon re-examination of the forensic evidence, police said, investigators noticed the blood-splatter patterns indicated that Leflore was Hollowell’s shooter.

Sophia Johnson, Leflore’s girlfriend before Hollowell, recounted similar abuse to Riverside and Las Vegas police. During a heated argument, Leflore ripped off her clothes, punched her and threw her on the ground, she said. He straddled her and pressed a gun to her temple, she said, and a neighbor interrupted the attack.

Johnson said Leflore called her shortly after Hollowell’s death. “He told her he didn’t give a (expletive) about it, she wasn’t bringing him money like she was supposed to, and that she was not doing what he told her to do,” the report said.

Contact reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow him on Twitter @clochhead44.