Mother tells of shock of daughter’s casino slaying

Kim Smith

Thursday, Aug. 29, 2002 | 9:07 a.m.

When the shocking news came that their youngest child was shot and killed in a Las Vegas casino, Henrietta Vitarelli said she was worried about whether her then 90-year-old husband's heart could take the stress.

"They told me what happened and I couldn't believe it," Vitarelli said Wednesday.

William Vitarelli did live through the shock of Heather Vitarelli's death on Sept. 8, 2000.

Now one month shy of 92, the Hawaii resident watched Wednesday as his wife of nearly 64 years testified as part of their negligence lawsuit against Harrah's. He had taken the stand Tuesday to describe the devastation wrought by the death of the granddaughter they eventually adopted.

Heather Vitarelli died while in town to celebrate her 30th birthday. According to court testimony, she was shot in the back after a suspected thief of slot machine coin buckets struggled with Harrah's security officers, who were trying to make an arrest.

Stephen Mullen had been stopped by officers 18 minutes before the shooting, after they noticed he matched the description of a theft suspect on a flier distributed by surveillance personnel.

The Vitarellis' attorneys, Gene Wait and Wayne Shaffer, told jurors they believe Mullen should have been immediately taken off the crowded casino floor.

They further allege Harrah's didn't have enough employees on hand to make the arrest once they decided to do so.

Harrah's attorney, Robert Foster, told jurors that the arresting officers didn't have enough probable cause to arrest Mullen until a supervisor confirmed his identification by viewing surveillance tapes of the prior thefts.

On Tuesday and Wednesday the elderly Vitarellis described how they came to adopt Heather from their son and the joy she brought into their lives.

"I had a different life at that time," William Vitarelli said, noting he has slowed down considerably over the past two years.

As he stood to leave the stand, he apologized to the jury for breaking down during his testimony.

"How can you describe the loss of a child? Even if you have 12 children and you lose just one, there's an empty hole," Henrietta Vitarelli said.

Following Henrietta Vitarelli to the stand Wednesday was Harrah's security manager James Cudney.

Cudney repeatedly told Shaffer that Harrah's security can only take action if the officers believe they have enough probable cause that a crime has occurred and a positive suspect identification has been made.

Officers are not allowed to take anyone off the casino floor, Cudney said, unless probable cause has been established.

After reviewing a Harrah's manual, however, the former Buffalo, N.Y., police captain acknowledged that Harrah's security policies do allow officers to move disruptive and intoxicated people to "areas away from the general public."

When asked if Metro Police and Harrah's personnel included a review of Harrah's policies in their investigation of the killing, Cudney didn't answer directly.

"(Metro) made comments along the way about what a good job our security personnel did and that they had a solid case" against Mullen, Cudney said.

Mullen, 34, is serving a 40-year to life sentence for Vitarelli's death and a consecutive sentence of 16 to 40 years for the non-fatal shooting of a security officer.

Michael Frimmel, 33, who authorities allege accompanied Mullen during a three-week crime spree leading up to Vitarelli's death, is serving two to five years in prison.