Ex-boyfriend of woman thought to have committed suicide charged with her murder

By Riley Snyder

Published Wednesday, June 26, 2013 | 2:10 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, June 26, 2013 | 2:49 p.m.

A California man serving a 13-year prison sentence for assault and kidnapping is now facing a charge of murder with a deadly weapon for allegedly murdering his former girlfriend and staging her death in 2006.

Shaun Leflore, 31, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Tuesday on the murder charge related to the death of his former girlfriend, Chantell Hollowell, in a Las Vegas apartment. Leflore was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2010 for assault with a firearm, kidnapping and crimes related to pandering. He was serving his sentence in a Mississippi prison but was transferred to Clark County this week to face charges the murder charge.

Metro detectives reopened the investigation into Hollowell's death in 2010 after Leflore’s arrest and filed a criminal complaint against him in December 2012.

According to the arrest report, in December 2006, Metro responded to an apparent suicide at an apartment in the 5000 block of River Glen Drive, near Flamingo Road. Officers found Hollowell’s naked body flanked by a gun and spent cartridge, along with a large amount of blood.

Leflore told police he and Hollowell had argued that night before Leflore went to a friend’s house. When he returned, Hollowell shot herself, Leflore told police.

Leflore said he dated Hollowell for about three years before breaking off the relationship after learning she was a prostitute, the arrest report stated.

After her death, investigators say Leflore began dating another woman in California, eventually becoming her pimp and assaulting her several times, leading to his 2010 arrest and conviction, according to the report.

Metro detectives also spoke with several of Leflore’s ex-girlfriends, all of whom said he was extremely abusive, according to the arrest report.

In an interview with one of Hollowell’s friends, detectives learned Leflore had pressed Hollowell into prostiution and was trying to start an escort service in Las Vegas.

Interviews with family members revealed Hollowell was not suicidal at the time of her death,. They said she was making New Year's Eve plans with her friends and family and was planning to enroll at UNLV.

In a followup interview with police, Leflore gave several misleading and conflicting statements related to the night of Hollowell’s death. That, combined with a review of evidence by crime scene analysts and Leflore's history of violence against his girlfriends, led police to arrest Leflore, according to the report.

Leflore is scheduled to appear at 7:30 a.m. Thursday in Las Vegas Justice Court.