Police: Escalating violence, looming divorce preceded fatal shooting

The husband and wife had been separated for months, on course for an ugly divorce.

Troy White had assaulted and threatened to kill Echo White in the past. After another argument quickly escalated on Friday, police allege he shot and killed the 29-year-old woman in their home while their three children and two of her other children were in the next room.

Police also accuse the 44-year-old White of shooting Echo's current boyfriend, Joseph Averman. Standing over him, gun in hand, White asked, "How does it feel now?" before eventually taking the keys to Echo's Dodge Durango and fleeing the scene.

That is according to the arrest report for Troy White, who turned himself in six hours later to a Yavapai County sheriff's deputy, more than 250 miles away in Arizona.

Las Vegas police were called to the 300 block of Altamira Road at about 11:50 a.m. Friday, after one of Echo White's sons, 9, ran next door to tell a neighbor his father had shot his mother and a family friend.

Echo White was taken to University Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the chest. She was pronounced dead a short time later.

Averman was shot in his right arm and right side. He underwent surgery at UMC, where he told detectives about the fight that killed his girlfriend.

Averman said Troy White had come over Friday and asked to speak with Echo in private, according to the report. The pair's three children lived with Echo at the home on Altamira Road, as did two of her children from another relationship. White still had access to the house and regularly saw his children.

After about five minutes, Averman heard yelling. When he ran and opened the door, he watched Troy White shove Echo White to the ground and shoot her once in the chest, before he turned the gun on Averman, according to the report.

While he was being carried out of the house by medical personnel, Averman noticed Echo White's Dodge Durango was gone.

Hours later, Troy White stopped in Prescott, Ariz., and told a Yavapai County sheriff's deputy he was wanted for shooting someone in Las Vegas. His wife's Durango was outside in the parking lot. The gun was in the spare tire compartment.

Contact reporter Kyle Potter at kpotter@review
journal.com or 702-383-0391.