WEEK IN REVIEW: Top news

A 9-year-old boy arrived at Hoggard Elementary School and told school officials that his mother and sister had been killed.

Even veteran Las Vegas police officers were stunned by the scene inside the house. The boy's sister had been raped and killed, his mother beaten to death and his father was bloody and unconscious. His 4-year-old brother, distraught but unhurt, also was found inside.

"One of the most horrific crime scenes we've seen in the past decade," according to one source who viewed the home at 1016 Robin St.

Police took several days to collect evidence at the home and said they have devoted every available resource to finding the suspect. By the end of the week, no one had been arrested and police said there were no suspects.

Neighbors were horrified, and friends remembered the family as happy and close. The household's patriarch, Arturo Martinez, is an electrician who runs a boxing gym in the evenings.

MONDAY

GSA FALLOUT CONTINUES

Congress held a series of hearings into the General Services Administration's $823,000 training meeting at the M Resort in Henderson in 2010.

House leaders expressed outrage. But the meeting's planner, GSA regional commissioner Jeffrey Neely, remained mum, refusing to answer questions after being subpoenaed.

By the time the hearings reached the Senate, the tone was calmer with investigators promising to continue their probe and GSA officials promising reorganization.

Travel industry officials urged Congress not to overreact. Nevada leaders worried that Las Vegas might become a scapegoat.

TUESDAY

VICTIM SPEAKS OUT

A 53-year-old woman spoke out after being ambushed by her ex-boyfriend and hacked in the head and hands with a machete.

Maria Del Carmen Gomez can no longer dress herself, feed herself, care for her disabled brother or work the three jobs she was holding down. She was ready to testify against her attacker in North Las Vegas Justice Court.

But his lawyers said Armando Vergara-Martinez intends to plead guilty to attempted murder with a deadly weapon.

WEDNESDAY

HOUSING APPROVED

The Las Vegas City Council approved an affordable housing project being developed by two former councilmen with past brushes with the state Ethics Commission.

Developer Michael McDonald and consultant Frank Hawkins said the 196-unit project is a way to revive a blighted neighborhood near Decatur Boulevard and Vegas Drive. The deal calls for $11 million in public subsidies.

City staffers and other critics questioned the need for a new project in a community burdened by foreclosure blight and a housing surplus.

THURSDAY

DA CLEARS OFFICERS

District Attorney Steve Wolfson announced he won't be charging officers involved in two separate citizen deaths in 2010.

His office released its first reports on a string of officer-involved deaths and cleared the Nevada Highway Patrol troopers who used a Taser on a person up to 19 times in August 2010 and the Las Vegas police officer who shot a man who was wielding a walking stick three months later.

Critics said the report left some questions unanswered. Wolfson called it a learning experience and said future reports may be more detailed.

FRIDAY

BODYGUARD PLEADS

An ex-bodyguard for boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. pleaded guilty to assault charges that he shot at two men outside a roller skating rink in 2009.

Ocie Harris, 29, of Chicago, entered a plea acknowledging prosecutors could prove their case against him. His sentence could range from probation to six years in prison.