Man accused in maid’s killing declared competent

Thursday, Sept. 29, 2005 | 11:20 a.m.

Doctors at a state mental hospital have determined a man accused of killing a Boulder City hotel maid, dismembering her body and disposing of it in a local fishing pond June 2003 is competent to stand trial.

Perry Monroe is expected to be transferred from Lake's Crossing in Sparks to Las Vegas where he appear before District Judge Jennifer Togliatti, who is expected to confirm the findings of competency.

If she does, Monroe will appear before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis to face one count of murder and one count of first-degree kidnapping for the June 22, 2003, killing of 49-year-old Ladonna Milam.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Vicki Monroe, who is not related to Perry Monroe, said she expected the case would ultimately be sent to the district attorney's death penalty review committee to determine if the aggravators exist to make Perry Monroe eligible for the death penalty.

Deputy Public Defender Bob Amundson said doctors at Lake's Crossing treated him for schizophrenia and after experimenting with several different medications and dosages have deemed him competent.

Amundson said he is concerned that Monroe may decompose mentally once he is taken from Lake's Crossing to the Clark County Detention Center because the medication he is currently using, Seroquel, is expensive and may not fit into the jail's budget.

Authorities allege Monroe killed Milam after she delivered towels to his room at the Hacienda hotel near Boulder City. Parts of her body were later found in a fishing pond at Veterans Memorial Park in Boulder City, several miles from the hotel.

Monroe was arrested in two days later while sleeping in his car at a rest stop outside Fresno, Calif., and extradited to Nevada.