Laughlin man to appear in court in slaying of 88-year-old father

A 52-year-old Laughlin man is due in court Thursday morning to face a murder count in the killing of his 88-year-old father.

Thomas Supranovich is accused of suffocating his father, Demetry Supranovich, with a pillow at the father’s Laughlin residence, according to a Metro Police report.

Daniel Supranovich, the elder man’s other son, requested police conduct a welfare check on his father on Aug. 8, 2014, according to the report. Daniel Supranovich said he was worried because his brother had a history of harming his father.

A hospice nurse went by Demetry Supranovich’s home and found a note on the door that said he had gone to the hospital, police said. Daniel Supranovich checked surrounding hospitals and determined his father had not been admitted, police said.

Metro Police went to the home and knocked on the door, but no one answered. Police found a broken window in the back and saw Thomas Supranovich going through some property in a bedroom, police said. When police told him they were there to conduct a welfare check, he told them his father was asleep, the report said.

From the front door, police spotted an elderly, naked man face down on the couch and determined he was dead, the report said.

When police asked Thomas Supranovich why his father was naked, he replied, “Oh gosh, I guess I should have noticed that.”

He told police he made his father breakfast that morning and had seen him alive just four hours earlier, the report said.

Police found a cushion covered in blood in a bedroom, and Demetry Supranovich had blood on his face and damage to his tongue, suggesting that he was suffocated, police said.

Police discovered a large amount of cash on Thomas Supranovich, along with his father's debit card.

After questioning, Thomas Supranovich was allowed to leave the premises.

A Sept. 21 autopsy revealed the man had died the day before police discovered his body, contradicting Thomas Supranovich's statement, police said.

Police tried to reach Thomas Supranovich for another interview, but his phone went straight to voicemail.

Although he posted on Facebook on Sept. 22 that he was in Boise, records showed he was in Laughlin using his father's debit card, police said.

Demetry Supranovich had started the eviction process on his home with the constable’s office days before his death, and had been adamant with police, EPS, and the constables that he did not want Thomas in his home.

Thomas Supranovich was eventually arrested on a warrant in Michigan sometime in early January. He initially refused to waive extradition but later changed his mind.

He was booked into Clark County Detention Center on Tuesday.