Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 | 4:57 p.m.
Metro Police say a suspect has been determined in the 1991 Las Vegas sexual assault and murder of Sherrie Bridgewater once classified as a cold case, according to a news release.
Thomas Elliott has been named as the prime suspect in the case. He died of suicide in Las Vegas in November 1991, the release stated.
Bridgewater’s body was found May 12, 1991 in her apartment in the 1000 block of West Monroe Avenue. The coroner’s office determined she had been sexually assaulted before being strangled to death. The investigation eventually was assigned to the cold case team.
In 2013, detectives were able to identify a suspect’s DNA profile from evidence at the scene. Police found the profile matched the profile in another unsolved homicide from 1975 in Westminster, Colo.
The agencies from both cities began collaborating on the investigation.
On Dec. 6, 1975, police found the body of Teree Becker in an agricultural field. Her autopsy determined she also died of strangulation after being sexually assaulted.
Through DNA work from multiple departments, Elliott was identified as the suspect in both cases.
