Halloween killings of boys remembered

Karen Zekan

Friday, Oct. 30, 1998 | 11:21 a.m.

It's the day costumed goblins, ghosts and ghouls playfully haunt the town, but Halloween stirs pain in the hearts of at least two families.

It was Halloween night 1995 in North Las Vegas that 12-year-old Rupert Wright was killed by a bullet in his chest when a family friend's 9 mm semiautomatic slipped from his hands and fired.

And the year before that, a few miles away, 7-year-old Tony Bagley was fatally shot while trick-or-treating in a skeleton suit with his family when a mystery gunman leaped out of the darkness and opened fire.

North Las Vegas Police never caught Bagley's killer; police for four years have been stumped.

And even the temptation of a huge pot of cash hasn't won the lead police need.

Bob Stupak, former owner of Vegas World who originated the idea for the Stratosphere Tower, offered $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gunman. Secret Witness similarly has put up $1,000.

The story has even aired nationally with no success. "America's Most Wanted" did a segment on the Bagley family tragedy in early 1996. The boy's mother, LaShelle Cooper, and an aunt were hit by some of the 10 fired rounds but survived. His sister, Shanell Bagley, then 11, was also injured and had part of her liver removed in surgery.

The Bagley family was back in the news in July when Tony's father, Anthony Bagley, was taken into custody for the April killing of Curtis Henry. Bagley remains jailed at Clark County Detention Center; his court case is pending.

Police hope one day, the clue they need will come so the boy's family can find some closure. Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call authorities at 649-9111 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.