Man gets life in slaying of girlfriend

Kim Smith

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2001 | 9:13 a.m.

A former Laughlin man was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday in the decade-old slaying of his girlfriend.

Danny Kaye Taylor, 41, will have to serve at least six years in prison before becoming eligible for parole in the death of Cheryl DeSantis.

Taylor pleaded the equivalent of no contest to second-degree murder and robbery in October to avoid a possible death sentence. He was sentenced by District Judge Mark Gibbons Tuesday after more than 90 minutes of emotional testimony from DeSantis' family members.

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

Taylor moved to Oklahoma shortly after DeSantis disappeared. Authorities claim he told acquaintances that he "knocked someone off in Las Vegas and buried the body."

That alleged statement led to Taylor's indictment last year.

Authorities believe Taylor killed DeSantis because she suspected he had been molesting her daughter, who was 4 at the time.

Taylor is also suspected of being behind the disappearance of his 12-year-old stepdaughter, who turned up missing while he was living in Oklahoma.

Taylor's attorney, Deputy Special Public Defender Kristina Wildeveld, said no charges have been filed in the Oklahoma case. She said her client still maintains his innocence and only entered a plea agreement in the DeSantis case to save his life.