Mother of three and her father slain in driveway

Beth Slovic

Thursday, Aug. 19, 2004 | 9:48 a.m.

A 42-year-old mother of three and her 65-year-old father were stabbed to death early Wednesday morning in the driveway of their Whitney Ranch home, police said.

Neighbors identified the victims as Rachel Bernat, a craps dealer at the Boardwalk hotel on the Strip, and Carlos "Chuck" Aragon, a contractor.

After hearing an argument outside the one-story stucco home near Tropicana Avenue and Boulder Highway around 4 a.m. Wednesday, Bernat's mother called 911 and said her daughter was being attacked by a man, police said.

When police arrived, the man had fled. He is still at large.

Bernat's mother caught a glimpse of the killer after she called 911 and tried to go outside, police said. She told officers she did not recognize the man.

She described the attacker as a white man between the ages of 40 and 50, 5-feet-8 with a muscular build. He had short hair or was bald, had a thin mustache and was wearing a black T-shirt with gold writing or a logo and black pants, police said.

No obvious motive for the murders exists, Sgt. Ken Hefner of Metro's homicide section said. Police would not say if they recovered a weapon from the scene.

Nothing at the scene indicated to police that the killer was an intruder.

The two victims lived with Bernat's two daughters from her third of four marriages, and Bernat's mother -- Aragon's ex-wife -- who moved to town two weeks ago from Nebraska, neighbors said.

Bernat's third child, a 3-year-old son, was with his father, at the time of the killings, neighbors said.

Bernat and the 3-year-old's father had been involved in a custody dispute concerning their son, a next-door neighbor, Tammy Meacham, said. Court records confirmed the legal dispute.

"Every time she talked about her son she had tears in her eyes," Meacham said. "She was a very good mommy."

Bernat had recently been working a second job taking bids for Southern Contracting, a home-improvement company where her father also worked.

Before her death, Bernat told Meacham she was working hard so her kids would have better lives, Meacham said.

Neighbors across the street said the victims were quiet. Other neighbors said the children were "sweet."

"Something went wrong," said Charles Andecover, while sitting in his front yard. "I hope they catch him, whoever it was."

Anyone with information should call Metro's homicide section at 229-3521.