Man gets life, no parole, in killing

As Stacey Jensen fought for her life three years ago, she managed to get her hands on a cell phone and place a desperate call to police.

She never got a chance to speak, but a 911 tape recorded her last gasps.

On Thursday, District Judge Valorie Vega formally sentenced the woman's killer to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A jury chose the penalty for Ray Azcarate in September after convicting him of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon for plunging a knife into his girlfriend's heart.

"While she was being murdered, she called the police," Deputy District Attorney Pam Weckerly said. "There's literally a 911 call where you hear her after he stabbed her and she's dying."

Weckerly praised Las Vegas police dispatcher Tammy Bylina for her efforts to get help to the caller on Aug. 18, 2004. Bylina, who testified at the murder trial, could hear yelling and the sounds of someone in agony before the call was disconnected. She immediately called back, only to have Azcarate answer and tell her everything was fine.

The concerned dispatcher then sent officers to the address linked to the cell phone, but it was not where the crime had occurred. Later that night, police responded to a call that led them to an apartment in the 3800 block of Royal Crest, near Twain Avenue and Swenson Street, where they found Jensen's body.

Police had responded to the same residence eight days earlier and arrested Azcarate on a domestic violence charge.

Azcarate was released from jail two days later and was awaiting trial when he killed Jensen. The defendant, now 37, was convicted of the domestic violence charge, a misdemeanor, after the 23-year-old woman's death.

Weckerly said evidence indicated that Jensen willingly returned to her boyfriend's residence after the domestic dispute. Evidence also indicated that Azcarate bought the murder weapon, a knife designed for scuba divers, on the same day he used it to kill Jensen at his apartment.

The slaying was discovered after Azcarate sought the help of a friend who lived in his apartment complex. After seeing the body, the friend informed his father, who called police.

Weckerly said police found the cell phone used for the 911 call at the murder scene. It did not belong to either Azcarate or Jensen.

Records show that Azcarate had three felony convictions and one conviction for a gross misdemeanor, all for drug-related offenses, in the 1990s and spent time in prison.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0264.