In recorded interview, suspect in Tammy Meyers’ slaying first is defiant, then bawls
Talking to Las Vegas police as a tape recorder rolled, 19-year-old Erich Nowsch first denied knowing anything about a mother of four being fatally shot outside her home in February.
But an hour later, after a detective confronted the teenager with what his friends had already told police, Nowsch broke down in tears and confessed what he'd done, according to a recording of the interview.
Nowsch said he opened fire on what he thought was a car full of people who'd threatened him and his family and were now following him. Instead, police say, Nowsch killed a woman he knew: 44-year-old Tammy Meyers, who'd had him over to her home for dinner.
"Mom, I'm going away for a long time," Nowsch told his mother in a phone call while police had stepped out of the room — but left the recorder on. " 'Cause I did do it."
The substance of Nowsch's confession was previously made public in grand jury testimony by a homicide detective.
The 2 ½-hour recording of the interview, which his lawyers are fighting to keep out of court, was filed as a public court exhibit two months ago. Some details from it were first reported Thursday by The Associated Press.
Accounts of the Feb. 12 shooting have repeatedly shifted. It first drew public attention after being labeled a case of road rage. It now appears the shooting may have resulted from a double case of mistaken identity.
Meyers' family members have said she was giving her daughter driving lessons at night when a car swerved around them and a man got out and threatened to kill the mother and daughter. Meyers' son, Brandon, told the grand jury his mother came home and insisted on going back out to look for the person who had threatened her, despite his pleas that she stay home.
They spotted a car — apparently Nowsch's — that looked similar to the one driven by the man who had threatened Tammy Meyers. But its windows were tinted, unlike the earlier car, Meyers' daughter testified.
Meyers died Feb. 14, two days after she was shot.
As Nowsch's recorded interview opened, he told the detectives about his life and aspirations to be a rapper. He said he'd had a hard time getting jobs because of his tattoos and, when asked what he's been doing with his time, replied, "Honestly, just chilling. I'm not really doing too much in my life at all."
As the conversation moved to the night Meyers was shot, Nowsch expressed surprise that his name had been brought into it. He told police he was at a friend's house all night and said he — like many in the public — had been trying to piece together what led to the shooting.
When a detective confronted Nowsch with incriminating details his friends had already told police, the teen accused the investigator of trying to "frame" him.
"I didn't shoot her," Nowsch said. "I never even fired."
"Erich. Erich," a detective interrupted several times. "We know what happened."
The detective tried to convince Nowsch telling the truth would be good for him, saying, "You're not a bad dude. You made a bad mistake because you thought somebody was after you, and that's all it is. You didn't go hunt anybody down."
A few minutes later, Nowsch started crying and asked, "What's going to happen?"
After promising to start telling the truth, Nowsch told police he was standing in a park when he noticed a car that appeared to be following him as he walked around. He said he was scared, having received threats on his phone that morning because of a drug dispute.
Nowsch called a friend to pick him up, and they drove away. When the car kept following, he said, he held a gun out the window as a warning. But the car kept following, he said.
"That's when I was like, 'They're going to bust on us, dude,' " Nowsch said. "And I just cocked it back and I started shooting on them."
He said he "f------ bawled" when he later realized who he had killed.
Derrick Andrews, who police say picked Nowsch up and drove him, also has been charged with murder. At an Aug. 21 hearing, Nowsch's lawyers will ask a judge to rule his confession involuntary and bar it from evidence. Trial is set for October.
Asked in the recorded interview if there was anything he wanted police to tell Meyers' family, Nowsch said: "Just tell them that my intentions were to take someone bad out, not a loving caring mom."
Contact Eric Hartley at ehartley@reviewjournal.com or 702-550-9229. Find him on Twitter: @ethartley.
