Name: 3rd suspect arrested in 2015 murder of elderly Las Vegas man
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3rd suspect arrested in 2015 murder of elderly Las Vegas man

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Skip to contentLAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - More than eight years later, a third suspect has been arrested in connection with the 2015 murder of an elderly Las Vegas man in his home. Claudia Judith Hernandez was taken into custody by Las Vegas police on Sept. 28. Two other suspects, Derek Fox and Donte Murphy, were arrested in 2016 for multiple crimes following the shooting death of Eugene Elliott, 72.According to court documents, a pool cleaner arrived at Elliott’s residence in southeast Las Vegas on August 19, 2015. When he arrived, he noticed that the garage door was open but Elliott’s Cadillac was gone. The pool cleaner entered through a side gate and went to work in the backyard.A police report says about 10 minutes later, the cleaner discovered a trail of blood leading from the pool to a rear sliding door to the house. He followed the trail, looked inside, and saw Elliott “naked and covered with blood on the floor near the kitchen.”The cleaner said that the victim appeared to be dead, and he added that the home looked like it had been ransacked. The witness said he immediately ran to his truck and called police.Officers arrived and cleared the scene. Emergency medical personnel also responded and confirmed that Elliott was dead.Homicide personnel responded to the scene and obtained a search warrant for the victim’s residence and stolen car. Police reported that the victim had been shot in his side and they found a .32 caliber cartridge case at the scene. Investigators also found a bullet in a lower cabinet in the kitchen.White plastic zip ties were discovered close to the body, leading police to believe that the victim was restrained during the ordeal, although there were no signs of forced entry. As the investigation continued, police determined that several of Elliott’s personal belongings were missing, including a laptop computer, a cell phone, his wallet, possibly one or two handguns and other unspecified items.One of the victim’s neighbors told police that he arrived home on August 18, 2015 and saw a black Ford Expedition parked in Elliott’s driveway. That vehicle then left and the neighbor said he believed Elliott got into his Cadillac and followed the other car, never returning home that night. The witness added that the victim’s garage door was left open.An autopsy on August 20, 2015 ruled that Elliott’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the abdomen, and the manner of death was deemed a homicide. Marks on his wrists confirmed that he had been restrained. Police notified media of the murder in order to generate potential leads in the case.On August 21, 2015, Elliott’s Cadillac was found in a parking lot near the intersection of Denning St. and Aurora Beam Ave., less than two miles away from the victim’s home. The car was unoccupied and had been placed on large bricks. The wheels and tires were missing.The vehicle was towed to the LVMPD crime lab for processing and several pieces of evidence were collected from it, including latent fingerprints, swabs of possible DNA and a swab of apparent blood.Police took an alleged car thief into custody on August 28, 2015. He said he “had some information about another individual” and wanted to speak with detectives. He then explained that he had recent contact with a friend named Donte “Active” Murphy, who had approached him about buying some Cadillac rims. Murphy said he stole a Cadillac, took the rims, and “had to ditch the car.” He added that he “had to hurt” the Cadillac’s owner. Murphy was reportedly driving a stolen 1988 Ranger pickup at the time.On September 15, 2015, police contacted a woman who said she had information about the murder and wanted to speak to detectives about it in order to avoid being arrested for trespassing. An investigation into her history revealed that she lied about her name when she called and she had an active arrest warrant out for robbery with a deadly weapon, in addition to a parole violation warrant.After her identity was clarified, she told investigators that she recently met with a friend, Derek Fox, who told her about a “violent robbery” he had committed with another woman, Claudia “Flaca” Hernandez, saying that he and Hernandez went into the home of an elderly man, tied him up and robbed him. During the robbery, the victim reportedly tried to run to the kitchen to get a knife and Fox said he shot him.Fox claimed he “did not want to hurt the guy,” so he shot him in the leg. Fox then took the victim’s property and fled the scene. He also implicated Murphy in the murder, saying he wasn’t sure if Muphy was present at the time or if Hernandez called him after the incident to come to the home and steal more items.A green 1997 Ford Expedition registered out of state to Fox was stopped and towed on August 21, 2015. An incident report stated that Fox was the driver. Subsequent to his identification, Fox fled the scene and was not captured. Police said the location of that traffic stop was not far from Elliott’s home and it occurred two days after the body was discovered.The Expedition was located at a towing lot and police placed a hold on the vehicle. Fox was arrested on unrelated charges on September 19, 2015. He was then charged with attempted murder with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm into a residence, prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm. Officers executed a search warrant and recovered a stolen .380 caliber handgun. Police learned that another gun, an Eschasa Eibar .32 caliber semi-automatic handgun, was recovered during Fox’s traffic stop.On October 20, 2015 the Firearms and Toolmarks unit reported that the cartridge case and bullet recovered from Elliott’s home were confirmed to have been fired from the Eschasa handgun seized during Fox’s traffic stop.Investigators interviewed Fox at the Southern Nevada Detention Center in Pahrump on October 22, 2015. He admitted that he knew Murphy but he denied knowing Hernandez or Elliott. He also denied ever having been at the victim’s residence or inside his car for any reason. Fox did confirm that he owned a green Ford Expedition but said the vehicle was stolen with the keys about four to five months earlier. When asked if he was stopped by police on August 21, he said no, despite the fact that he gave his ID card to officers before fleeing on foot.Fox then asked for his attorney and the questioning stopped.One of the detectives working the case discovered a white Ford Ranger with a fictitious registration in the LVMPD Wanted Vehicle System. It had been towed from a location on Boulder Highway on August 28. Police obtained a warrant, transported it to the crime lab for processing, and discovered several pieces of evidence, including a white plastic zip tie, swabs of possible DNA, several gloves and miscellaneous paperwork. The zip tie matched the ones found at Elliott’s home.Police interviewed Hernandez at LVMPD headquarters on November 7, 2015 after she was arrested for an unrelated crime. She was shown photos of Fox, Murphy and Elliott. She identified Fox as a friend and noted that he had just gotten out of prison. She added that Murphy was someone she knew and claimed he had stolen from her and she “did not like him.” She said she had never seen Elliott before.She denied any involvement in the robbery and murder.Police obtained arrest warrants for Fox and Murphy on August 15, 2016, including charges of murder and robbery, for the killing of Elliott. While those two suspects were arrested, the investigation of Hernandez continued.Police received a Report of Examination from the Latent Prints Unit on February 28 of this year. The latent prints recovered from Elliott’s residence were compared to those of the suspects, including Hernandez, and a latent print on the door frame of the residence’s door to the garage was identified as a match to Hernandez’s left thumb.Based on the facts and circumstances, including finding Hernandez’s latent print inside the home, the police report says that the investigators concluded that Hernandez, Fox and Murphy unlawfully entered Elliott’s residence with the intent to commit burglary, robbery and kidnapping.On September 28, LVMPD patrol officers conducted a stop at the intersection of Sahara Ave. and Maryland Pkwy. and the front passenger of the vehicle was not wearing her seatbelt. She verbally identified herself as Claudia Hernandez. She was detained and taken to Metro HQ. She again initially denied any involvement in the incident, saying she “would never hurt an old man.”When presented with evidence of her prints at the scene, Hernandez said she “may have used drugs” with Elliott at his home, or that the victim brought her and a prostitute to the residence. She also suggested that her memory was so bad she “may have forgotten what happened eight years ago.”Hernandez was arrested and booked on a charge of open murder with a deadly weapon of a victim over the age of 60. She has a Justice Court appearance scheduled for October 5.Murphy entered a guilty plea in 2017 and was given sentences of 36-90 months, 36-90 months, and 24-60 months to be served concurrently on charges of burglary, grand larceny of an auto and accessory to commit murder. Fox’s case has been delayed multiple times and his trial is scheduled to begin on February 12, 2024.Copyright 2023 KVVU. All rights reserved.

Skip to contentLAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - More than eight years later, a third suspect has been arrested in connection with the 2015 murder of an elderly Las Vegas man in his home. Claudia Judith Hernandez was taken into custody by Las Vegas police on Sept. 28. Two other suspects, Derek Fox and Donte Murphy, were arrested in 2016 for multiple crimes following the shooting death of Eugene Elliott, 72.According to court documents, a pool cleaner arrived at Elliott’s residence in southeast Las Vegas on August 19, 2015. When he arrived, he noticed that the garage door was open but Elliott’s...

3rd suspect arrested in 2015 murder of elderly Las Vegas man

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