Man who killed neighbor in retirement dies in Northern Nevada prison

An 80-year-old man serving time for the 2006 stabbing death of his neighbor at a Las Vegas retirement home has died, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections.

De Rac Hanley died Monday in the medical center at Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City, according to a news release. He had been there since Jan. 19, 2007, serving 240 months to life for convictions of second-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon. The Carson City coroner's office will release his cause of death.

Hanley's murder case was featured on the TV show "Sin City Law" in 2007 on the Sundance Channel.

At the time of the slaying, Hanley and Earl Jerome "Jerry" Spangenberg both lived at James Down Towers, a public housing high-rise at 5000 W. Alta Drive, near the intersection of Decatur Boulevard. It's managed by the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, whose website describes it as having 200 units with one or two bedrooms and within walking distance to a casino.

After taking prescribed morphine and drinking a bottle of bourbon Jan. 27, 2006, according to court records, Hanley invited 71-year-old Spangenberg into his apartment for a drink.

But things soon took a violent turn.

Spangenberg made unwanted sexual advances, Hanley would later say, and refused to leave.

To force Spangenberg out, Hanley told police, his shoved his hand downt the man's throat, then tried to use his fingers to gouge out his eyes.

When that didn't work, court records show, Hanley grabbed a kitchen knife.

He stabbed Spangenberg numerous times in the face, neck and chest, according to court documents.

When the body was found, the knife was protruding from Spangenberg's cheek.

And it was found after Hanley called 911 himself.

"My name is Hanley, H-A-N-L-E-Y. I live at 5000 Alta Drive," he says to police dispatchers in a recording included on the "Sin City Law" episode. "About an hour or two ago, I killed a man.

"He came onto me," Hanley said.

"His corpse is lying on the floor," Hanley said in a shaky voice. "I don't know what to do."

Spangenberg's stab wounds were too many to count, according to court documents.

Court documents described Hanley as having suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car crash. He seemed to be experiencing the onset of dementia, had Alzheimer's disease and alcohol problems. He was a veteran and a retired geology engineer.

Hanley tried twice — most recently in 2013 — to appeal his convictions. Both times he was denied.

Contact Kimberly De La Cruz at kdelacruz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @KimberlyinLV