Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Law enforcement:

Son of slain couple arrested near Hoover Dam

Timothy Chester’s arrest is the second made in the deaths of his parents

Chester

Metro Police

Timothy Chester, left, and Victor Antonio Veliz, both 18, were arrested in the deaths of Thomas Chester, 57, and Carla Chester, 51.

Updated Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009 | 3:08 p.m.

Death investigation

Metro Police investigate the deaths of a man and woman found Wednesday afternoon at the Heritage Mobile Home Park, 1515 S. Mojave Road. Launch slideshow »

Death investigation

The son of a Las Vegas couple found dead Wednesday afternoon in their eastern valley mobile home was arrested this morning while walking along U.S. 93 in Arizona toward Hoover Dam.

Timothy Chester, 18, was arrested about 8:30 a.m. after security guards at the Hoover Dam checkpoint noticed a man acting suspicious. Officials then discovered that Chester had an arrest warrant charging him in the deaths of his parents in Las Vegas.

"It's kind of different to have somebody walk through the checkpoint," Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Bob Walsh said this morning.

Metro Police late Wednesday arrested another 18-year-old man, Victor Antonio Veliz, in the deaths of Thomas Chester, 57, and Carla Chester, 51. The couple were found dead in their home Wednesday afternoon at the Heritage Mobile Home Park, 1515 S. Mojave Road. The woman had a knife sticking out of her neck, detectives said.

Veliz has been booked into the Clark County Detention Center on two counts of murder with a deadly weapon, two counts of conspiracy to commit murder and burglary with use of a deadly weapon, detention center records show.

An arrest report indicates that Timothy Chester and his parents had argued Tuesday, the day before the couple were found bleeding in their mobile home.

"Timothy had talked about killing his parents in the past including wanting to stab his mother," the report says.

Police learned that Veliz was Timothy's only friend and the family knew where he lived, the report says. Veliz's mother called 911 during the investigation of the double homicide and told police her son had killed two people.

When police went to the Veliz home Wednesday night, Victor Veliz walked outside and surrendered to police, the report says.

The police report says Carla Chester had been stabbed in the neck and Thomas Chester had a gunshot wound to the head.

Veliz told police that Timothy Chester pulled a .22 caliber black and silver semiautomatic pistol out of a case hidden in the side of a recliner. Timothy also gave Veliz two magazines for the gun, a police report indicates. Veliz said he loaded the gun after Timothy asked him if he could kill his parents, the report says.

The father was shot first from about 5 feet away, then Veliz shot at Timothy's mother, who was lying on a couch, the report says. Then Veliz told police he went to the kitchen, obtained a sharp object and stabbed Timothy Chester's mother. Veliz says he washed his hands in the kitchen sink after Timothy Chester obtained a Ruger pistol from his father's bedroom and left the home during the shooting.

The gun Veliz says he used in the slayings and bloody clothing were recovered from his home, the report says.

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