For some, holiday ends in tragedy

Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2000 | 10:56 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Essie Oten's family had been hoping for a miracle to bring her out of a coma after a brutal attack several months ago, but the 57-year-old grandmother died on Christmas Eve.

While most families in the Las Vegas Valley celebrated the holiday weekend peacefully, several tragedies occurred.

Oten's death on Sunday marked the end of a struggle for survival after a man pulled a gun on her and demanded money as she sat at a bus stop at D Street and Paul Avenue about 5:50 a.m. on Oct. 10. She gave him the meager amount of cash she had, but the robber pulled her behind a house.

The gunman tried to sexually assault her and then, failing that, shot her in the face.

Community leaders and business owners put up a reward for the arrest of the attacker, but no suspect has been identified or arrested.

On Saturday Martha Jaeger, 49, was found dead in her father's house. Metro Lt. Wayne Petersen said she had moved in with him recently out of fear of her ex-husband, Vitally Zakouto.

Zakouto, 51, had been seen in the neighborhood days before her slaying. There had been a history of domestic violence between the couple, police said.

Tuesday night detectives booked Zakouto into the Clark County jail on murder charges.

On Sunday about 5:30 a.m. Daren B. Culley, 33, of Las Vegas died in a one-car accident on Tropicana Avenue near Arville Street, police said.

He apparently lost control of his station wagon, drove up a curb and crashed into a street light pole, police said.

On Monday, a Henderson woman, Arlene L. Gabel, 66, was booked into a Huntington Beach, Calif., jail on attempted murder in connection with the shooting of her husband, Jerry Gabel, 62, during an argument in the home of the couple's daughter, police said.

The couple apparently had been having marital problems and their daughter called police when the argument escalated. Arlene Gabel apparently brought a .22-caliber handgun from Henderson to her daughter's home, police said.

This morning a Metro Police motorcycle officer was downgraded to serious condition at University Medical Center after being injured when a car pulled in front of his police motorcycle Saturday afternoon.

Officer Jeffery Roch, 28, was headed south on Jones Boulevard approaching Elkhorn Road on a 2001 Harley-Davidson police motorcycle when he collided with a Ford sedan heading eastbound on Elkhorn Road.

Witnesses said that the driver of the Ford, Deretha Holub, 37, failed to yield the right of way to Roch after stopping at a stop sign at the intersection of Jones Boulevard and Elkhorn Road, police said. Holub has been cited for failure to yield right of way from a stop sign.

Roch had been listed in fair condition Tuesday, but apparently worsened during the night.

Also Tuesday a 52-year-old man died after accidentally shooting himself after target shooting in the desert with his son, Sgt. Ken Hefner of the homicide unit said.

Charles Tabor was in a desert area about 11:30 a.m. off East Lake Mead Boulevard when he apparently mishandled his handgun while putting it into his waistband, Hefner said.

Tabor shot himself, and his son left the area to get help. An officer was in the area, but Tabor died before medical help could arrive, he said.

Sun reporter Keith Paul and the Associated Press contributed to this report.