Man pleads not guilty in girlfriend’s killing

Friday, March 3, 2000 | 10:13 a.m.

The Clark County district attorney's office will seek the death penalty for a former Clark County resident suspected of killing his girlfriend in 1991.

Deputy District Attorney Melissa de la Garza told District Judge Mark Gibbons of the office's decision during Danny Kaye Taylor's arraignment Thursday.

Taylor, 39, pleaded not guilty to an open charge of murder and robbery during the hearing. Gibbons scheduled his trial for Jan. 10, 2001.

According to police, Cheryl DeSantis had been living with Taylor when she disappeared in April 1991. Months later her skeletal remains were found in San Bernardino County, Calif.

Taylor reportedly told an acquaintance he met after moving to Oklahoma that he "knocked someone off in Las Vegas and buried the body."

Court documents indicate the death penalty is being sought because property of the victim is missing and authorities believe the murder took place during the commission of a robbery. Secondly, authorities allege Taylor killed DeSantis to avoid being arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting her young daughter.