Two bodies found in burned house in Henderson

Jace Radke

Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2001 | 11:14 a.m.

Henderson Police this morning are trying to find the ex-husband of a woman whose house was burned and two bodies discovered inside, to determine if their young son is alive.

Police have not identified the bodies because they were badly burned, said Officer Terry Bowler, a Henderson Police spokesman.

"At this time we're trying to locate the child. Obviously we're attempting to find him by finding his father," Bowler said.

The woman, her 9-year-old son and her current husband moved into the house in April, neighbors said.

"She was a dealer at the MGM, and he was a blackjack dealer at Harrah's," said Stacy Beutler, who lives in the neighborhood. "I was horrified when I got home and saw all the police and fire trucks. I thought it was my house."

According to Clark County Assessors records and neighbors, the home is owned by Sonny Thaker.

Firefighters came upon the bodies while attacking a fire at 90 Parker Ranch Drive, near Gibson Road and Lake Mead Drive. The bodies were found on a bed inside the home, Bowler said.

Bowler would not elaborate on why detectives are treating the deaths as homicides, saying only that there are "some suspicious factors," that are being investigated.

Neighbors called 911 about 5:15 p.m. after hearing what was described as a muffled or enclosed explosion, and seeing black smoke rising from the house.

"We had multiple calls of an explosion, and found smoke coming from the eaves of the house," acting Battalion Chief Tim Hartman said. "The fire was out within minutes, and a quick search revealed the bodies. We backed out at that point and waited for police."

A portion of the north wall of the house was damaged, apparently by the explosion, Hartman said.

Police were unable to identify the bodies, or even the sexes, because of how badly they were burned. Detectives were to serve a search warrant at the home early this morning.

The Clark County Fire Department's arson dog was to investigate the scene once the search warrant was obtained.

The cause of death was undetermined this morning, pending an autopsy, police said.

The deaths, if ruled to be homicides, would be the seventh and eighth slayings this year, compared with eight in Henderson during all of last year.

The most recent double homicide in Henderson was in August 2000, when Steven Szany and David Bender were found dead in an apartment. Three people were later charged in connection with the slaying.

Just six months before those slayings, two armored car guards were gunned down during a botched armored car holdup. A little more than a year later, Jose Vigoa was charged with murder for the killings of Richard Sosa and Gary Prestidge II. Another suspect, Oscar Sanchez Cisneros, hanged himself inside the Clark County jail while being held on other robbery charges.

Sun police reporter

Keith Paul contributed to this report.