Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Rocky relationship ends with four people shot, mother and teen dead

Updated Monday, June 3, 2013 | 12:45 p.m.

Manuel Mata III

Manuel Mata III

A boyfriend with history of jealousy shot and killed his girlfriend of three years and her teenage daughter and wounded a 4-year-old before turning a gun on himself early Saturday, according to a Metro Police report.

Maria Flores, 43, and Elizabeth Gomez, 17, were pronounced dead at the scene, a house in the 5500 block of Cotton Street, near East Stewart Avenue and East Christy Lane.

Hospitalized with a gunshot to the neck was 4-year-old Sophia Trujillo.

Manuel Mata III, 38, Las Vegas, underwent surgery Saturday at University Medical Center with self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the head, doctors told detectives. Mata was booked in abstentia on two counts of murder with a deadly weapon, attempted murder and battery.

According to the Metro arrest report:

Mata’s 18-year-old daughter told police she was awakened early Saturday morning by three loud gunshots and immediately locked herself in her bedroom and hid in her closet. She called her grandfather to come to the house.

When the grandfather arrived, the 18-year-old left her bedroom. On the way out of the house, she saw her father and Flores on the hallway floor, covered in blood. It was at that point, about 6:12 a.m., when the grandfather called 911.

Detectives obtained a search warrant and retrieved a .40-caliber handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun. The guns, family members said, belonged to Mata.

Members of Flores’ family arriving at the house told detectives Flores and Mata had been in a “rocky” relationship for about three years. At times Mata had displayed jealousy and would accuse Flores of cheating. Flores, they said, had threatened to move out of the residence a couple of weeks earlier but was convinced by Mata to stay.

Mata was last seen at the residence about 10:30 p.m. Friday, sitting outside and drinking beer.

One of Flores’ children arrived at the house between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. to drop off the 4-year-old and talked with Flores. Mata’s vehicle was in the driveway, but he was not seen at the time.

From their investigation, detectives believe Mata retrieved his guns in the early-morning hours Saturday, shot and killed Flores and Gomez and attempted to kill Trujillo.

Monday morning, Mata remained at UMC, Metro spokesman Officer Larry Hadfield said. Matta has been arrested for DUI and other local traffic charges in the past, Hadfield said.

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