Couple indicted on murder charges in North Las Vegas toddler death

A man and woman who abandoned a teenage girl with her 3-year-old sister, who later died, have been indicted on murder charges, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Jondrew Lachaux, 39, faces 22 counts, including, first- and second-degree murder, one count of concealing evidence, three counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment, nine counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment with substantial bodily harm, four counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual assault of a minor under 16.

Kellie Phillips, 38, faces six counts, including first- and second-degree murder, three counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment with substantial bodily harm and child abuse, neglect or endangerment.

District Judge Valerie Adair set bail at $5 million for Lachaux and $2 million for Phillips after prosecutor Stacy Kollins said the couple had been squatting in a 10,000-square-foot California home before their arrest.

Authorities have said Lachaux impregnated his 17-year-old stepdaughter and abandoned her with her toddler sister, who later died in North Las Vegas.

The 3-year-old had been born 29 weeks premature and “had advanced respiratory issues her entire life,” Kollins said.

Lachaux was arrested April 6 after detectives found the toddler’s body and the teen’s malnourished infant. The teen mom and her dead sister are two of seven children in Lachaux and Phillips’ family, according to police. Phillips was arrested April 7.

Phillips didn’t know her daughter was pregnant, police have said.

The teen gave birth at their home in the 6600 block of Wood Thrush Place, near the north 215 Beltway between Decatur Boulevard and Aliante Parkway.

She didn’t have medical attention. Without enough food, the teen, her infant and the toddler became malnourished, police said. The toddler, who had breathing problems, eventually died.

After her sister died, police said, the teen called Lachaux. He told her to hide the body in plastic and a stroller box, according to the prosecutor. He came back to Las Vegas in late March and made the teen help him move the body into the back seat of a broken-down car in the family garage.

Lachaux then gave his stepdaughter baby formula and put her and the baby on the street, police said. He didn’t want his wife to find out he’d fathered the child, they said.

“He had been sexually abusing (the teen) for years,” Kollins told the judge. “He put her up in a hotel for one night when he came back to town, and he had sex with her again.”

Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker