2016 trial set in ‘Crazy Train’ suitcase slaying

By Ana Ley

Published Wednesday, April 23, 2014 | 10:03 a.m.

Updated Wednesday, April 23, 2014 | 10:17 a.m.

The trio accused last year of stuffing a homeless man inside his own suitcase and drowning him in a motel bathtub won’t be tried until early 2016.

Attorneys representing the defendants — Emilio Arenas, Theresa Allen and Peyton Hemingway — this morning told Clark County District Judge Joseph Bonaventure they needed more time to review evidence, noting that DNA samples taken from the scene likely wouldn’t be processed until late this year. Bonaventure set the new trial date for Feb. 8, 2016 — it was previously slated to begin May 12.

Arenas, 44, and Hemingway, 37, were indicted in October 2013 in connection with the Aug. 12, 2013, slaying of Carl Simon, 50, at a Budget Suites motel in the 4800 block of Boulder Highway. Allen, 46, was arrested a month later.

According to a Metro Police report, the three brutally beat Simon for hours because they thought he stole money intended for drugs. They whipped him with a belt, struck him over the head with a liquor bottle and stabbed him, according to the report. Hemingway reportedly told police that when Simon wouldn't die, Allen stripped Arenas and then put him in a black suitcase filled with water to drown him.

Prosecutors said the group played Ozzy Osbourne's “Crazy Train” on a cellphone during Simon's final moments.

Police found Simon's body inside a trash bin in the eastern Las Vegas Valley, the report said. His naked body was in the fetal position, bound at the feet with electrical tape. A ring inscribed with the word “peace” was on his pinky finger.

All three suspects face charges that include murder, first-degree kidnapping and robbery with the use of a deadly weapon. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Arenas.