Man held in baby’s death
A 37-year-old man has been arrested in Phoenix and charged with the murder of his girlfriend's baby, found in an apartment trash bin near the Strip last week.
Las Vegas police, who identified the baby as 21-month-old Shia Travis, said Sunday that William Marshall faces extradition to Southern Nevada.
Authorities detained Marshall and Darrean Williams, Shia's 20-year-old mother, late Saturday night in Phoenix for questioning. They were both "persons of interest" in the investigation of Shia's death.
Police said the toddler died from blunt force trauma to her head that occurred during a beating.
Homicide Lt. Lew Roberts said the investigation into Williams is ongoing but that she has not been arrested.
"We'll have to talk to the DA on what we'll have to charge her with," Roberts said.
Two homeless men found the chubby-cheeked toddler Wednesday wrapped in a sheet and wearing a diaper inside a trash bin at the La Mesa Apartments, 560 Sierra Vista Ave., near Swenson Street. Police then fanned out to nearby neighborhoods in an attempt to capture anyone responsible for her death and to identify the toddler.
Police released a photo of the victim in hopes of identifying her.
Before she was identified, police called her "Baby Jane Vista Doe."
Neighbors at the complex recognized the baby in the photo, and by Thursday morning, detectives identified Marshall and Williams as "persons of interest."
Roberts said he was elated Marshall and Williams were detained.
The department dedicated a slew of resources to locating the couple.
"I'm ecstatic we caught them," Roberts said. "I hope justice is served for a guy like this."
He added that he did not know why the couple fled to Phoenix.
Roberts said two detectives sent to Phoenix to interview the couple were back in Clark County by Sunday afternoon.
The discovery of Baby Jane was reminiscent of the 2006 discovery of a 3-year-old girl in a trash bin in a southeast valley apartment complex.
Police dubbed her "Jane Cordova Doe," for the Villa Cordova Apartments where she was found. Weeks later, police identified her as Crystal Figueroa.
Crystal's mother and her boyfriend were arrested and received life sentences for the slaying.
Also in 2006, a dead baby girl was found in the trash processing area of The Mirage. Detectives learned the mother was a 16-year-old girl who concealed her pregnancy, panicked and threw out her stillborn infant.
On Mother's Day 2008, a newborn boy was discovered inside a bathroom trash can at the Excalibur hotel. The baby's umbilical cord was still attached to his body.
Police have not determined who was responsible for dumping the body.
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.
