Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Suspect in double slaying says he’d rather die than go to jail

Bryan Clay taken into custody

via Metro Police

Bryan Clay, 22, was taken into custody Friday by Metro Police and faces charges in connection with a double-homicide of a mother and daughter in their Robin Street home, April 27, 2012.

Updated Monday, April 30, 2012 | 12:15 p.m.

The suspect accused of killing a 10-year-old girl and her mother after raping them inside their home two weeks ago told investigators he couldn’t remember what happened that night, according to an arrest report released Monday.

Bryan Clay, 22, did not deny involvement in the slayings or the separate sexual assault of a 50-year-old woman in the early-morning hours of April 15, the report states.

Instead, Clay told detectives they should have killed him and that he would rather die than go to jail, according to the arrest report.

Clay then “commended the detectives for their professionalism in dealing with him,” police noted in the report.

Authorities arrested Clay Friday and transported him to the Clark County Detention Center. According to a criminal complaint filed Monday, Clay has been charged with two counts of murder with use of a deadly weapon, one count of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon, one count of attempted murder, one count of first-degree kidnapping, one count of sexual assault, one count of sexual assault with use of a deadly weapon, two counts of sexual assault with a minor younger than 14 with use of a deadly weapon, one count of robbery, one count of burglary, and one count of child abuse and neglect.

The arrest report details the grisly crimes, which were discovered after a 9-year-old boy went to Mabel Hoggard Elementary School April 16 and reported that his mother and sister were dead in the family’s home.

“He also reported that his father had two holes in his head, was acting strange and there was blood all over the home,” according to the report.

Metro Police arrived to find 10-year-old Karla Martinez and 38-year-old Ignacia Martinez, called Yadira by family, dead inside the home in the 1000 block of Robin Street, near Washington Avenue and Tonopah Drive.

Officers’ first glimpse of the horrific crime scene occurred as they peered through the home’s front window and saw Yadira Martinez covered in blood, naked from the waist down, according to the report.

Then they heard a child crying in a distant room, the report states.

At that point, a dazed and severely injured Arturo Martinez-Sanchez exited the home, and officers noticed “two large wounds on his head,” the report states. Doctors at University Medical Center determined he had received at least three blows to the head with a blunt object.

Arturo Martinez-Sanchez remains in the hospital and has not been able to communicate, relatives said.

Autopsies on his daughter and wife determined they had been sexually assaulted during the attacks, the report states. The Clark County coroner ruled their deaths homicides.

Investigators learned the homicides likely occurred in the early morning hours of April 15. They recovered a multi-colored Ecko jacket and black T-shirt from a pickup truck parked in the home’s driveway, the report states.

A neighbor had found the clothing on the street near his truck and, assuming they belonged to Arturo Martinez-Sanchez, tossed them into the vehicle, the report states.

As police logged many hours investigating the Robin Street killings, they also were looking into an eerily similar crime that occurred less than a mile from the Martinez-Sanchez home the same day.

In that case, a 50-year-old woman called 911 shortly before 2 a.m. April 15 and reported that a black man was following her near Tonopah and Vegas drives, the report states.

Patrol officers found the woman in a desert area near the intersection, where she said the man had taken her and sexually assaulted her amid a patch of tall weeds, the report states.

The victim clubbed her attacker in the head with a rock, prompting him to physically assault her, the report states.

“He punched her in the head, put his hands around her neck and squeezed, choking her,” according to the arrest report.

When the suspect heard police sirens, he grabbed the woman’s cell phone and fled the area, the report states.

Police found a black and red Cleveland Indians baseball hat at the scene, along with blood on the victim’s jacket, the report states.

Early last week, detectives learned the DNA evidence recovered from the 50-year-old sexual-assault victim matched semen and other evidence found on the bodies of Karla and Yadira Martinez, the report states.

Detectives traced the call history for the 50-year-old woman’s stolen cell phone and discovered several calls made after the attack, the report states.

Investigators contacted the recipients of those calls, who identified the caller as “Junior” or “King Junior,” an acquaintance who often calls from different phone numbers and asks for rides, the report states. None of those people had given him a ride, police said.

With the help of a Facebook account, detectives identified the suspect as Bryan Clay, who was wanted on a felony child abuse count, the report states.

On Friday, Clay’s mother, Latasha White, called police and asked officers to pick up her son, whom she knew was wanted by police, the report states. Detectives found Clay sleeping in her residence, police noted in the report.

Clay, who police said had scratches on his left cheek, denied stealing anyone’s cell phone the morning of April 15, the report states.

Clay went on to say he was partying with his brother at a friend’s house, where he drank liquor, took ecstasy and smoked cigarettes dipped in PCP, the report states.

He awoke the next day and found a cell phone next to him, the report states. Clay said the phone rang and when he answered, a male told him that he had lost his phone, the report states.

“Clay told detectives he attempted to make arrangements to return the phone, but the minutes ran out and the phone disconnected,” according to the arrest report.

Detectives next showed Clay photos of the Ecko jacket and Cleveland Indians baseball hat, which he said were his, the report states.

Immediately afterward, Clay clarified that he had worn the clothing items, but they did not belong to him, the report states.

As the interview progressed, police said Clay repeatedly told detectives he didn’t remember anything from those early morning hours, but he never denied involvement in the crimes, the report states.

After his arrest, authorities collected a buccal swab from Clay, the report states. The DNA extracted matched evidence collected from the 50-year-old sexual-assault victim and the bodies of Karla and Yadira Martinez, the report states.

A fingerprint discovered inside the Martinez-Sanchez family home also matched Clay’s left thumb, the report states.

Clay remains in the Clark County Detention Center without bail, according to jail records. He’s scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning.

Editor’s note: The original version of this story was based on an official report that provided an incomplete listing of Arturo Martinez-Sanchez’s name. The story was updated April 12, 2013, to include Martinez-Sanchez’s full name.

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