Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Police say jealous former husband brutally beat woman to death

Updated Monday, June 16, 2014 | 11:57 a.m.

Click to enlarge photo

Marvin Moran

The anonymous call to 911 was ominous:

“All right, pay attention: 2606 S. Durango, apartment 873. There’s a (woman) dying. Go help her out. Ain’t no joke.”

Metro Police say the man who made the call was 36-year-old Marvin Fernando Moran. Now, Moran is jailed on a count of murder and kidnapping in the beating death of his former wife, Iris Moran, 36.

According to an arrest report released this morning:

After the 911 call was made shortly after 6 a.m. Friday, police responded to the Symphony Condos in The Lakes, but the housing units there were numbered only in the 100s and 200s. Responding officers decided to check on apartment 273.

There, officers found Iris Moran sprawled out on the floor in a pool of blood. Her wrists were tied behind her back. It appeared she had been badly beaten.

Investigators determined Iris Moran had rented the apartment in April and had moved in with her two children, ages 13 and 11. The children were not at the home, prompting police to become concerned about their safety.

Police records of a previous domestic disturbance call involving Iris Moran pointed officers toward Marvin Moran.

Police caught up with him near his home in the 7900 block of Cina Avenue. Officers told Marvin Moran they were investigating an incident and wanted to speak to him. Marvin Moran agreed to talk.

During the interview, Marvin Moran told police the children were safe at his home with their grandmother. He also told police his ex-wife was living at 2606 S. Durango, No. 873.

Regarding his relationship, Marvin Moran said, his wife had obtained a divorce for financial reasons. Marvin Moran said he was still watching his wife, and she was acting badly, going out with people and not properly caring for her children. He had threatened to take her back into court to seek custody of the children.

Police told Marvin Moran that his ex-wife was dead. After advising him of his Miranda rights, Marvin Moran agreed to continue to be interviewed.

He said Iris Moran had dropped the kids off at his house about 6 p.m. Thursday before her work shift at the MGM Grand. Marvin Moran wasn’t home at the time but returned between 8 and 9 p.m.

Because he was jobless and in need of money, he said, he had left his home about 4 a.m. Saturday to go scout locations to set up a yard sale.

Asked if he had killed his ex-wife, Marvin Moran told police no. Detectives then asked if he had placed the 911 call. Again, he said no. Then he asked for an attorney.

Police placed him under arrest.

As they continued their investigation, detectives played the audio from the 911 call for Iris Moran’s mother and oldest son from a previous marriage. Both identified the voice making the call as Marvin Moran.

Iris Moran’s 13-year-old son told police his father had threatened to kill the boy’s mother after learning she was dating a co-worker. Iris Moran’s 11-year-old daughter told police her father had been stalking her mother. The girl also identified her father’s voice on the 911 tape.

After a judge signed off on a search warrant for Marvin Moran’s house, crime scene analysts found fresh blood on a bathroom rug, vanity and toilet, along with blood-stained tissues in the trash in the master bathroom.

Marvin Moran remains jailed in the Clark County Detention Center. The Clark County District Attorney’s Office continues to weigh filing formal charges.

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