Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Surviving victim in grisly crime improves, but he still is unable to communicate, police say

Metro calls double-homicide its highest priority but offers few new details in week-old ordeal

The man found critically injured at the scene of a double-homicide last week has improved to stable condition, but he still is unable to communicate with police about the “horrific tragedy,” Metro Police said Monday.

At an afternoon news conference, homicide Lt. Ray Steiber offered scarce updates about the case, citing the integrity of the investigation.

“We’re confident we’re going to solve this,” he said. “The community needs resolve in regards to this, and, specifically, the family needs resolve from this.”

A week ago, on April 16, a 9-year-old boy tipped authorities off to the grisly crime. The distressed boy told school staff that his mother and sister were dead in the family’s home, near Washington Avenue and Tonopah Drive.

Responding officers discovered the bodies of 10-year-old Karla Martinez and 38-year-old Ignacia Martinez inside the home, police said. Police also found an unharmed 4-year-old boy and the children’s father, who had blunt-force trauma injuries, inside the home.

Karla and her mother died from blunt-force trauma injuries during assaults, the Clark County coroner’s office determined.

Steiber said the home remains an active crime scene, a circumstance not unusual given the complexity of the investigation.

“This is very sensitive,” he said. “It is very time intensive and very intricate.”

Steiber called the investigation a “top priority” for the department, but he declined to offer more details about the possible murder weapon or the welfare of the surviving children.

“We have devoted many, many man hours and devoted many, many resources (to the investigation),” he said. “However, at this time, there is nothing further I can release.”

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact Metro’s homicide section at 702-828-3521 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or online at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.

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