Las Vegas police make arrest in 2008 slaying

After an investigation that lasted more than a year, Las Vegas police have made an arrest in the death of a 22-year-old woman found in a downtown trash can last year, police said today.

Las Vegas police traveled to San Bernardino, Calif., this morning to arrest Khalfani Howard, 29, charging him with murder in the slaying of Helena Haley.

Haley’s body, covered with cuts and bruises, was found stuffed in a trash can in a parking lot on the northwest corner of Carson Avenue and South Eighth Street in Sept. 2008.

The Clark County coroner’s office ruled the cause and manner of her death undetermined, but did not rule out possible asphyxiation.

Officials weren’t able to identify Haley until January, when a relative called the coroner’s office to inquire about an unidentified deceased woman he thought could be Haley, according to a police report.

The coroner’s office was then able to identify the victim by her dental records. The relative said his cousin, Haley, hadn’t been seen since September, her last known address being Las Vegas.

According to the report, Haley, a North Carolina native and mother of three, had first moved to California to live with her aunt, hoping to “get her life together.”

There she met Howard, and the two moved to Las Vegas together to find employment in Aug. 2008, the report states.

But Howard returned to California a month later, telling Haley’s family that she was able to find work, but he was not, and the two had ended their relationship.

In Oct. 2008, Haley’s aunt received a letter, purportedly from Haley, which stated that she was OK and would soon travel to Florida with a friend.

There was no return address or stamp, and Haley’s aunt believed the letter had been placed in the mailbox, according to the report.

The report also states that neighbors of Howard and Haley in Las Vegas heard a loud disturbance in their apartment shortly before Haley’s body was found, and when police questioned Howard, the report states he lied about living in a Las Vegas apartment with Haley, of which the police had obtained records.

Police also obtained bus ticket records that revealed Howard had traveled from Las Vegas to California the day after Haley’s body was discovered.

Las Vegas police Sgt. Russ Shoemaker said two homicide detectives traveled to California today and arrested Howard.

“This is what we do for a living,” Shoemaker said. “We take the case and work it until we solve it. In this case, we were able to do it just a little more than a year later.”

Howard is being held without bail in the San Bernardino County jail pending extradition to Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Review-Journal writer Maggie Lillis contributed to this report.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. �