Woman pleads guilty in case where body burned

Kim Smith

Wednesday, March 29, 2000 | 10:20 a.m.

The second of two people accused of killing a Las Vegas man and then burning his remains has entered a plea agreement.

Deborah Smith, who is also known as Deborah Payne, pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder and robbery in connection with the June 1998 death of Jack "Rusty" Gornik.

Smith could receive life in prison on the murder charge and a 15-year prison sentence on the robbery charge, Deputy District Attorney L.J. O'Neal said.

She is scheduled to be sentenced May 17 by District Judge Sally Loehrer.

Smith and Wendell Deane McGinnis were arrested after acquaintances of theirs reported to police what they knew about Gornik's death.

The acquaintances told police that Gornik picked up Smith and McGinnis after their car broke down with the understanding that the two would share their heroin with him. The three of them ended up living together in a downtown motel.

Smith and McGinnis decided to kill Gornik after Smith discovered some of her heroin missing, according to court documents.

The acquaintances told police that Smith told them that when attempts by McGinnis to kill Gornik with a drug overdose and by battering him didn't work, she placed a plastic bag over his head.

Workers at the Littleton Roofing Co., 3053 N. Nellis Blvd., found Gornik's remains after extinguishing a Dumpster fire on the morning of June 25, 1998.

Although the body was badly burned, the autopsy revealed Gornik, 38, died of morphine poisoning.

McGinnis pleaded guilty to accessory to murder and was sentenced to five years in prison in October 1999. He is eligible for parole after two years. At his sentencing hearing, he maintained his innocence, saying Gornik died of an overdose.

The robbery charge Smith pleaded guilty to stems from the fact she and McGinnis continued to drive Gornik's 1984 Ford Bronco following his death.