Death penalty may be sought in Tahoe murder

Brendan Riley

Tuesday, March 21, 2000 | 9:16 a.m.

STATELINE, Nev. - Prosecutors may seek the death penalty against a children's club worker charged with kidnapping and killing a 9-year-old girl who had been playing outside his Tahoe apartment complex.

Thomas Robert Soria Jr., 19, was arrested a few hours after the nude body of Krystal Steadman was found Monday, down a highway embankment.

Asked whether he'd seek the death penalty in the case, Douglas County District Attorney Scott Doyle said, "We're taking the steps necessary to keep that option open."

"It's disturbing, the nature of the crime and the fact that this is a small community," added Doyle. "Crimes of this nature don't happen very often here."

Authorities said Steadman had been seen about 2 p.m. Sunday standing on the running board of Soria's vehicle outside the Lake Park apartments, where her mother, from nearby South Lake Tahoe, Calif., was visiting a friend.

Sonya Klempnerr, 25, the victim's older sister, said Krystal was a popular student involved in many school activities, adding, "It's ironic that your biggest fears, the things you do so much to prevent, have happened."

Klempnerr said the victim had been checking in regularly with her mother, who had told her to stay out only a few more minutes because they were going to eat dinner.

When her daughter didn't come back on time, the mother went looking for her, found her jacket on the ground and called police.

The girl's body was found about 25 miles away, off U.S. 50 which winds over Spooner Summit from the South Lake Tahoe area into Carson City.

Douglas County Sheriff Ron Pierini said an autopsy was scheduled to determine cause of death. The autopsy will also determine whether the victim had been sexually assaulted.

Pierini described Soria as a part-time worker at a satellite branch of the Lake Tahoe Boys and Girls Club, located at an apartment complex which mainly houses casino workers for the resorts that straddle the nearby California-Nevada line at Lake Tahoe. He has no previous criminal record other than a bad check charge.

Pierini also said the girl was playing in the parking lot of the apartment complex with two other girls, but they left.

About two hours after the victim disappeared, a motorist saw a man acting suspiciously near a vehicle resembling the Blazer pulled over on U.S. 50, a few miles from Carson City. The motorist then called police, who began searching the area.