By Derek Jensen
Deseret News staff writer and
The Associated Press
Two Utah Highway Patrol troopers Wednesday arrested a male juvenile wanted
in connection with the murder of a 3-year-old child in Mesquite, Nev.
The juvenile, whose exact age and identity were not immediately available,
was arrested about five miles south of Nephi as he headed north on I-15
about 7:45 a.m., UHP Lt. Doug McCleve said.
The male juvenile was wanted in connection with the 2 a.m. stabbing of two
children, ages 3 and 10, in Mesquite. According to information broadcast by
police dispatchers, the 3-year-old child died from wounds sustained in the
incident at a Las Vegas hospital.
Hospital spokesman Rick Plummer said the older girl was unconscious
Wednesday in the pediatric intensive care unit.
Deputy Mesquite Police Chief Joe Szalay called the stabbing the worst case
he'd seen in 13 years as a police officer.
Szalay said the attackers and the children's parents might have argued
before the attack at a Mesquite casino.
"It doesn't seem to be a random home invasion," Szalay said. "There's
probably some type of association through friendship or some prior dealings.
There might've been some type of a conversation or confrontation."
Police said the children and their parents were living at the CasaBlanca
resort in Mesquite, a fast-growing desert town about 80 miles northeast of
Las Vegas near the Utah state line.
Mesquite police were called by CasaBlanca security, and the first officer to
arrive found the younger girl unconscious in the bloody RV.
"The 10-year-old said a man knocked on the door and told them that their
mommy had been hurt," Szalay said. "When she opened the door, he held his
hand over her mouth and started to stab her. That's the last thing she
remembers."
Other details of the incident were not immediately available. Mesquite
police would only confirm that authorities in Juab County had arrested the
male juvenile and two juvenile girls in connection with the stabbing.
The three were being held in the Juab County Jail, and Mesquite police were
expected to arrive in Nephi by noon Wednesday to begin interviewing the
trio.
"At this point, because of the nature of the investigation, we're not
processing the car, we're not asking questions," McCleve said. "We're
holding these individuals while Mesquite PD comes up to interview these
individuals and process the car."
An attempt to locate the trio was broadcast to law enforcement officers
around the state Wednesday morning. They were told to look for an individual
wanted for murder out of Mesquite driving a white Honda Accord, Nevada
license plate 099-NBR. The male was believed to be traveling with his sister
to the Magna or Murray area.
Police in Murray watched a residence in their city believed to have a
possible connection with the individuals.
After hearing the vehicle and suspect description, UHP troopers Cory Wright
and Greg Kelsey parked their police cruisers on the side of the freeway
watching for any cars matching the description given by Mesquite
authorities.
"They were actually out there on the interstate watching for this possible
subject to come through and sure enough there it was," McCleve said. "The
system worked flawlessly in this case."
The troopers took all three individuals into custody without incident,
McCleve said.
Email D.Jensen, Deseret News
© 2003
Deseret News Publishing Company.