Pahrump man gets life in prison in beating death of 3-year-old

A Pahrump man was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday after being convicted in the death of a 3-year-old.

Cole Engelson was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the death of Yessenia Camp, who prosecutors said was beaten to death by Engelson in their Pahrump home in July 2017, according to the Nye County district attorney’s office.

Engelson was arrested July 15 after police said they found Camp unresponsive and her mother was performing CPR in their home. She was pronounced dead at Desert View Hospital, according to the arrest report.

Engelson first told police that Camp, who was his girlfriend’s daughter, was unresponsive in the shower and that she had gone limp while he was drying her. He said he had a bad day because he worked all night and drank throughout the day. Nye County police said the child had multiple bruises and trauma to her body.

The Nye County Sheriff’s Office said Camp died from blunt-force trauma to the head and Engelson told police he was responsible for her death but provided few details.

The jury deliberated for two hours after an eight-day trial, which included statements from Camp’s family, according to the statement from the district attorney’s office.

“Yessenia would never have the chance to ‘come back’ in 20 years so Engelson should not have that chance either,” the district attorney’s office said, quoting the family. “The shocking brutality of the crime and Engelson’s lack of remorse were also discussed.”

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.