Man charged with murder year after body was found

A man’s wrapped body was found underneath a couch near Interstate 15 last October. A year later, police accused a man of murder in his death.

Police identified Christopher Ram Parlade, 32, as a murder suspect after the body was found Oct. 5, 2016, underneath the highway overpass near mile marker 14. He is being held in Clark County Detention Center without bail.

“The body was next to a pillar, underneath a couch, wrapped in a sleeping bag, a blue tarp, a packing blanket, and bedsheets,” according to a Las Vegas police arrest report. The report said the sleeping bag was zip-tied shut.

The man was identified as Denis Katz, 63, the Clark County coroner’s office said; his death was ruled a homicide. Katz’s cause of death was asphyxia, with blunt-force trauma.

Detectives identified Parlade’s connection to the homicide in December when they found Katz’s stolen 2005 Lexus, according to the report. The silver SUV contained items related to a prior burglary and stolen vehicle case of which Parlade was a suspect, the report said.

Police think Parlade got help from another man and woman to load Katz’s body into his SUV and drive it to the place where it was found. The man and woman told police they helped Parlade dispose of Katz’s body.

The arrest report wasn’t clear on where Katz lived or what day he was killed.

Through witness interviews, detectives concluded that Katz argued with his former roommate through a Facebook Messenger video chat. The report said he tried to kick Parlade and the man out while they were at the residence

The other man left, the report said, but he returned after hearing a commotion inside the home.

“Parlade became enraged and beat Katz in the face with his fists and smashed his head on the hard surface of the floor or wall,” the report said. Police think one person watched and at least one other saw through a Facebook Messenger video chat.

In an April interview with police, the other man said Parlade knocked out Katz and wrapped his head with tape and white cloth. Parlade then dragged him into the bathroom after he stopped struggling, the report said.

The arrest report said a white pillowcase covered Katz’s head. Nylon rope bound his hands and feet.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.