Kids call 911, tell Las Vegas police their mother was dead
It was just before 9 a.m. Saturday when the 911 call came in, Las Vegas police said. On the other end of the line were two children, both under 10.
A small voice told a Metropolitan Police Department dispatcher that their mom, who police said was in her early 30s, was dead inside her bedroom on the 4600 block of Dealers Choice Way. She had been shot at least once, police said.
By noon, homicide detectives had identified a suspect in the killing — the children’s father, who also lives in the townhouse, Lt. Ray Spencer said. He was not in custody Saturday afternoon.
“We are actively looking for that person at this point,” Spencer said at the scene.
Here’s a snippet of the briefing given by homicide Lt. Ray Spencer this afternoon on the 4600 block of Dealers Choice Way.
At noon, the time of this briefing, police were still waiting on a search warrant. Very few details were immediately available. pic.twitter.com/up2TthlYJm
— Rio Lacanlale (@riolacanlale) July 14, 2018
The family’s townhouse sits in a gated neighborhood just northeast of Boulder Highway, a busy southeast valley road lined with extended-stay budget hotels.
On Saturday, the neighborhood was quiet despite the large police presence. Hours into the investigation, detectives were still interviewing neighbors and trying to track down witnesses. It was not clear whether an argument preceded the shooting, although police have determined that there is no recorded history of domestic disputes at the family’s Dealers Choice Way address.
Police also were trying to locate immediate family members to take the children.
The Clark County coroner’s office will release the woman’s identity once her family has been notified.
Her death was the 29th domestic-related homicide investigated by Metro this year, according to records maintained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. That number includes fatal cases of child abuse or neglect. As of Saturday, Metro had investigated 93 homicides in 2018.
Early Friday, another domestic dispute turned deadly when a 24-year-old man allegedly pushed a woman down a flight of stairs at a northeast valley extended-stay hotel, police said. Dion L. Stanley faces a murder charge in the woman’s death, records show.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.
