30-year-old sentenced to prison for killing girlfriend
A 30-year-old Las Vegas man was sentenced Wednesday to 16 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing his girlfriend in December.
In a tearful allocution, Benjamin Farrey, who attempted suicide after the slaying, apologized to the family of 28-year-old Mandi Perez, his attorney Kristina Wildeveld said.
Farrey in June pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon. He entered an Alford plea, which is a type of guilty plea that allows him to maintain his innocence.
At Wednesday's District Court hearing, Farrey told Judge Donald Mosley he would trade his life for the victim's if that were possible, Wildeveld said.
Farrey has no memory of the event and is now a paraplegic who must use a wheelchair as a result of his suicide attempt, Wildeveld said.
Authorities said Farrey suffered head injuries after he jumped from his second-story apartment onto a concrete pool deck after stabbing Perez multiple times.
Las Vegas police discovered Perez and Farrey in the early morning of Dec. 13, 2009, at the Shelter Island Apartments on Swenson Street near Twain Avenue. Police had received a call from Farrey's ex-girlfriend, who lived in New York.
The woman told police she had received a call from Farrey saying he had "screwed up" and "hurt his girlfriend real bad," according to court documents.
Farrey and Perez had an infant son together who was found unharmed in the apartment after the slaying. The boy is now 1.
Perez was the mother of two other children, ages 4 and 10.
Outside the courtroom, Wildeveld said Perez's father embraced Farrey's parents after the emotional hearing and they grieved together.
Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@
reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
