Couple face April trial in hotel room killing

Kim Smith

Monday, July 10, 2000 | 9:40 a.m.

A couple suspected in the strangulation death of a Kentucky man found dead at the Stratosphere hotel-casino will be tried in April.

District Judge Sally Loehrer scheduled Val Stallworth and Jamie Shuey's trial for April 2 after the pair were arraigned Friday morning.

The couple could get the death penalty if they are convicted in the slaying of Stephen Nally, 42.

Nally's bound and gagged body was found in his hotel room May 29. The pair were arrested after a check of security videotapes showed that no one but them and Nally had entered the room between May 26 and May 29.

Metro Police homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said the couple have been linked to several other Las Vegas and Southern California robberies.

Stallworth, 46, was released from prison in November 1998. According to court records, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison on a charge of robbery with use of a deadly weapon on Dec. 21, 1978. He also received a 10-year burglary sentence that was to be served concurrently.

At the time, Stallworth was using the name Starworth and had been arrested in a series of hotel robberies in Las Vegas.