Crime briefs for May 31, 2001

Thursday, May 31, 2001 | 10:47 a.m.

Woman stabbed, then burned

A 19-year-old man was charged early today with the slaying of a 64-year-old Las Vegas woman in her apartment.

Christopher Michael Williams was originally booked into the Clark County jail on a possession of a stolen vehicle charge. Police later connected him with driving the car of Song Magliari, a woman found dead in her apartment on May 8, Lt. Wayne Peterson of Metro Police's homicide unit said.

Williams was rebooked today on charges of murder, robbery with a weapon, sexual assault with a weapon, grand larceny and arson.

Firefighters who were called to an apartment in the 1900 block of Simmons Street near Lake Mead Boulevard found Magliari's body on fire in the kitchen. An autopsy determined Magliari died from stab wounds and the fire was apparently set to cover up the slaying, police said.

Police say porn found on computer

A Clark County School District elementary school teacher has been arrested for allegedly having child pornography on his computer at home.

School District Police arrested fourth grade teacher Don Whittaker Tuesday at his home, Sgt. Ken Young said.

Police received information that there was pornography on Whittaker's computer, and after investigating determined that there was enough evidence to make the arrest, Young said.

Whittaker was employed at Laura Dearing Elementary, 3046 Ferndale St., near Lamb Boulevard and Desert Inn Road.

He has been removed from the classroom, a school district spokeswoman said.

Whittaker's computer was taken as evidence, Young said.

"We worked with Metro Police and the FBI on this," Young said. "We all work together in a kind of Internet crimes task force."

Woman arrested in New Jersey

A Las Vegas woman, sought on charges of embezzling more than $700,000 from the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, was arrested last week in New Jersey.

Denise Quigly, a former accounting office worker for the organization, is in jail in East Rutherford and is awaiting extradition. She was arrested on a warrant following a lengthy investigation by Metro Police.

A criminal complaint was filed Sept. 3, 1999. The arrest warrant cites 17 counts of comprehensive theft. Police alleged that cash receipts were pocketed and the Realtors' association's books were doctored to conceal the theft over a seven-to-eight-year period.

Quigly was working for a New Jersey real estate management company as a controller at the time of her arrest, Metro Detective David West said.

Gun found under victim

North Las Vegas Police are treating a fatal shooting Wednesday night as a homicide but are not ruling out the possibility of a suicide.

Police found the victim, who had been shot in the head, inside a home in the 1800 block of Stanford Street, near Tonopah Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard North about 7:30 p.m. Police found a gun under the man's body, Lt. Art Redcay said.

The victim had been staying at the home for a couple of days. The renter of the home told a neighbor that the man had been injured, and then left in the victim's Chevrolet pickup, police said.

The renter is being sought for questioning, police said.

The body of a missing

California woman was found Wednesday floating in Thompson Bay in Lake Havasu, Ariz. Susan Kay Bates, 22, of Cypress, Calif., had been missing since Saturday when she was last seen about 2:30 a.m. swimming. Boaters Wednesday found her body.