Killer sentenced to life in case of murder for hire

Thursday, April 8, 2004 | 9:43 a.m.

A Las Vegas man convicted of killing a UNLV student in a murder-for-hire plot involving a lesbian love triangle was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Wednesday.

Luis Barroso, 25, agreed to the sentence prior to the penalty phase of his trial after a jury found him guilty of 10 felony charges, including first-degree murder, sexual assault and kidnapping charges in the January 2001 killing of 27-year-old Tzatzi Sanchez.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Frank Coumou said he had intended to argue for the death penalty prior to the sentencing deal.

Sanchez was found strangled, beaten and sexually assaulted in her home near Nellis Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. Prosecutors say Sanchez's former lover hired Barroso to kill her after Sanchez began a relationship with another woman.

The former lover, Marsella Whalley, faces charges in Mexico, where she fled following the slaying, for allegedly orchestrating the killing.

Barroso's codefendant, Obed Marroquin-Valle, is waiting to stand trial on similar charges.