Man, foster child found dead in apparent murder-suicide
Las Vegas police were investigating what they called a murder-suicide of a man and his 18-month-old foster child Sunday morning.
Officers responded at about 8:15 a.m. to the Oasis Vinings apartment complex at 6100 Carmen Blvd., near North Jones Boulevard and Vegas Drive.
The man’s body was found inside of a car, and the girl’s body was inside a crib in an apartment, police said.
The man’s wife told police the couple recently had become the foster parents of two children, the girl and another baby.
It started when the woman was awakened by phone calls from her husband’s employer saying he hadn’t shown up for work, she told police.
She went outside and found him in the car.
When officers arrived, the woman went inside to look for the car’s keys and found the girl dead in her crib, police said.
The man was last seen putting the girl in the crib early Sunday morning. Police said an initial investigation led them to believe the man killed the girl before going outside to take his own life.
Police did not release any details on how the man killed himself and the toddler.
The other foster child, a 6-month-old baby, went into the care of Clark County’s Child Protective Services, homicide detective Lt. Ray Steiber said.
No arrests were reported as of Sunday afternoon.
The Clark County Department of Family Services issued a written statement Sunday evening through county spokesman Erik Pappa:
“We are stunned and saddened by the loss of a foster child and the apparent suicide of a foster parent. DFS is fully cooperating with law enforcement during its investigation. It is our responsibility to place children in a safe environment, and our hearts are heavy as we work to gather more information.”
The apartment complex front office declined to comment.
It was the 103rd homicide in Metro’s jurisdiction this year.
Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services reported 26 child deaths this year before Sunday. Out of those, 17 were children under 4, according to the department’s website.
One case involved 10-month-old Lokelani Morton-Speer. She was found unresponsive Sept. 11 in a Laughlin home. Last week, the coroner’s office declared her death a homicide, death by acute methadone toxicity and bronchopneumonia.
Review-Journal reporter Annalise Little contributed to this report. Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @lauxkimber. Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites.
