Man kills ex-girlfriend, hides body under floor, police say
A Las Vegas man killed his ex-girlfriend during a domestic dispute, then hid her body beneath the floor of their home, police said Saturday.
Valentine Kaul was arrested Friday night and charged with first-degree murder after police located the body of a woman inside a residence in the 4600 block of Crystal Peak Drive about 9 p.m., according to Metro.
The preliminary investigation showed Kaul, 58, and the woman were in an argument when things turned physical.
“As a result of the physical altercation, the victim appeared to be deceased, at which point Kaul placed her body underneath the floor of the residence,” the release said.
Information about when the woman died and why police were called to the “suspicious situation” was not immediately available. Her identity will be released by the Clark County coroner’s office after her family has been notified.
Kaul has a history of domestic battery charges, according to Las Vegas Justice Court records. He was arrested in December 2008 and January 2011 on misdemeanor battery charges, in November and December 2013 on misdemeanor domestic battery charges, and in February 2014 on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge and a felony coercion with force or threat of force charge.
County property records show that Kaul co-owns the property with Jaqueline Sedlack, who is 68 years old, according to voter registration records. It wasn’t immediately known if she was the woman whose body was found Friday.
On Saturday afternoon, neighbors gathered outside their homes. They said they did not personally know Kaul and that he was “secluded.” They expressed surprise when they were told what happened and said they didn’t know why police were in their neighborhood Friday night.
One neighbor said a man who lived at the home where the body was found would only come out after sundown and that he would often do mechanic work in the wooden shed attached to the run-down mobile home, which sits on a dirt lot.
Just two doors away from Kaul’s property, Eddie Shelby, 55, and his family were landscaping their front yard Saturday, preparing to move back into the home after a 10-year absence.
“I hate to hear that,” Shelby said several times about the homicide.
Kaul was being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail.
This is the 24th homicide in Metro’s jurisdiction this year.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Metro’s homicide division at 702-828-3521 or email homicide@lvmpd.com. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or www.crimestoppersofnv.com.
Review-Journal writer Kimber Laux contributed to this report. Contact Kimberly De La Cruz at kdelacruz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @KimberlyinLV. Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites.
