Chain saw home invasion suspect has previous run-ins with law

By Mary Manning

Published Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008 | 3:24 p.m.

Updated Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008 | 4:13 p.m.

A man suspected of killing the 18-week-old fetus of his estranged wife and of killing the woman's new boyfriend was indicted by a federal grand jury in Arizona earlier this year on charges of assault and robbery, according to documents obtained by the Las Vegas Sun.

William John Keck was charged, along with five others, after an attack on two men at the Kingman Wash on the Arizona side of Lake Mead on Feb. 24, according to the indictment. The charges were filed in federal court because the Lake Mead National Recreation Area is federal land.

Keck told a special agent that two men in a boat approached Keck's group, which had set up camp on the shore.

Keck said his companions worried the two men who had arrived on a boat were "cops." His girlfriend said one of the men "creeped her out." When Keck asked the men to leave, one man told Keck he should go instead. Keck told the agent he punched the man in the temple and the man fell backward, then he said he punched him three more times as the victim fell to the ground.

As Keck dragged the unconscious man about 75 feet, he yelled to his companions to "get his friend," the criminal complaint states. The two men who were beaten also were robbed of $1,800, their keys, cell phones and other property. The victims both had broken noses, bruises, lacerations requiring staples and both were treated at a local hospital, the special agent said.

District Attorney David Roger has filed an additional charge of manslaughter against Keck in the death of his estranged wife's fetus after he carved a hole in the door of her home with a chain saw and sprayed gunfire through it, killing her new boyfriend as well as the unborn baby.

Police said Wednesday that the woman, Angelique Keck, is recovering from the gunshot wounds.

Police arrested Keck, of Las Vegas, Monday on a charge of murder with a deadly weapon and a charge of attempted murder. He has also been charged with battery with use of a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm and burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center, police said.

The manslaughter charge was added under a state law that protects unborn children who move in the mother's womb.

The incident happened at 1:10 a.m. Monday, when security officer Matthew Staley was surveying the grounds at the Villa Cordoba Apartments at 2800 Eastern Ave., according to a police report. Staley told police he heard what sounded like a power drill coming from one of the buildings.

When Staley investigated the noise, he saw a man dressed in black, including boots and a cap, standing at the door of an apartment holding an assault-type rifle in his hands, the report said.

Police reported that as Staley made eye contact with the man, he pointed the weapon at Staley and said in a loud voice, "I wouldn't do that."

As Staley turned and ran down the stairs he heard numerous shots fired and ran for cover in the next building, then called 911, the report said.

Inside the apartment, 26-year-old Jonathan Lestelle had been sitting on a couch with his girlfriend, Angelique Keck, who is still married to William Keck, police said.

When William Keck sawed a hole through the door with a chain saw and sprayed the room with gunfire from the assault rifle, the couple on the couch ran for a rear bedroom, police said. However, Lestelle and Angelique Keck each were shot several times, police said. Lestelle died at the scene.

Angelique Keck told police she had separated from her husband and that he had threatened to shoot her in the stomach and kill the baby, the report said.

Angelique Keck was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center and is recovering from her injuries.

William Keck lives in an apartment with his brother in the eastern valley, where police found him. Police said when officers read Keck his Miranda rights he told them he did not understand, so they spent some time explaining, the report said.

Wiliam Keck told police he loves his wife deeply, but that he has had other girlfriends since the separation, the police report said. He also told police he is taking several medications.

Keck told police that he doesn't remember being at the apartment complex where his wife and her boyfriend were living. Keck said he owned an assault rifle, but had given it to friends, as he is not allowed to be around guns. His rifle was in the hands of a friend named "Fox," he told police.

Under a search warrant, police found an empty box of rifle bullets in Keck's apartment.