LV man convicted in deaths of his mother, girlfriend

Erica D. Johnson

Thursday, May 1, 2003 | 8:36 a.m.

Jurors on Wednesday ruled that a Las Vegas man murdered his mother and his girlfriend, even though one body was never found.

Jurors found Michael Messick, 31, guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon in the April 2001 death of his mother, Hisayo Miller, 51, and second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend, Anne Sauzo, 50.

Jurors deliberated for less than five hours.

Miller's body was found in a plastic tub in her condo near Sahara Avenue and Hualapai Way. Sauzo, who was last seen getting into her vehicle with Messick a week before Miller's death, has been missing for two years.

Chief Deputy District Attorney L.J. O'Neal said while the lack of a body made prosecuting the case more difficult, it is not unique for a defendant to be convicted of murder without a body.

"It changes things immensely," he said. "With no cause of death there are tremendous gaps in evidence. It was an unusual circumstance, but it's been done before."

Sauzo's family members, who were in the courtroom when the verdict was read, said they were confident that Messick would be convicted, even with little direct evidence.

"I knew he'd be found guilty," said Carol Cheney, Sauzo's sister. "I think he thought he'd get away with it."

Defense attorneys had fought the second murder charge prior to trial precisely because there was no body. District Judge Kathy Hardcastle had ruled that there was enough evidence to warrant the charge.

Deputy Special Public Defender Brett Whipple, who plans to appeal the verdict, said he respects the jury's decision.

"I respect the work and patience of the jury, and I'm proud to be a part of the system that allows us to appeal," he said. "So we'll leave it up to another court to decide."

Messick used a white piece of paper with eye slits cut out to hide his face from cameras when he entered the courtroom and held his head in his hands when the verdict was read.

He faces life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 to 50 years when he is sentenced June 23.

O'Neal said jurors were most likely swayed by DNA evidence presented at the trial, which included the blood of both victims found in Messick's car.

A witness for the prosecution, Jeffrey Iverson, also testified that he saw Messick taking a body covered in black plastic out of the trunk of his car.

Prosecutors said the Rubbermaid tub that held Miller's body contained a knife and a pair of men's jeans in Messick's size. A plastic bag was over Miller's head and a bungee cord had been wrapped around her neck.

An autopsy revealed she had been stabbed multiple times.

Messick, who worked as a pizza deliveryman, told police he last saw Sauzo, his co-worker, when he dropped her off near Arizona Charlie's on Boulder Highway.

Cheney said she met Messick only one time and she is still unsure of his motive for killing her sister.

"He was very paranoid," she said. "And the drugs (he used) didn't help much."

Laurie Higgins Garcia, Sauzo's niece, said she thinks Messick is mentally unstable, and that could work against him in prison.

"He's too psychotic to be in prison," she said. "Someone will kill him in there."