Police investigating double homicide near Paradise, Tropicana

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Published Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016 | 12:54 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016 | 5:27 p.m.

Officers responding to a call about a blood-splattered man this afternoon forced entry into the apartment he was believed to be in when screaming was reported, according to Metro Police.

Upon entering the first-floor unit, they found the man and the bodies of a man and woman he's suspected of beating to death in the 5000 block of Palo Verde Road, Metro Lt. Dan McGrath said.

A neighbor called police at 12:13 p.m. to report that the blood-stained man, who was only described as being white and about 50 years old, was outside the apartment he lived in with the victims, who may have been a married couple, McGrath said.

He re-entered the unit sometime before police arrived.

The victims, a man in his 60s and a woman believed to be in her 40s, had recently taken the suspect in after he was kicked out of another apartment, McGrath said. They were dead from apparent blunt-force trauma to their heads when first responders arrived.

Investigators were trying to determine what item was used to beat the victims, McGrath said, noting there were earlier indications that the suspect had used a baseball bat.

The blood on the man and his clothes might be a combination of the victims' and his, as he had minor abrasions possibly caused by a skin condition, McGrath said.

Detectives were waiting on a search warrant to enter the apartment, and the preliminary details were based on statements from the officers who entered the unit and footage captured on their body cameras, McGrath said about 2:45 p.m.

Police were expected to be at the complex four several hours, McGrath said. The scene was described as being "very bloody."

A motive for the slayings hadn't been determined, McGrath said. Witnesses told investigators there was a history of drug use in the apartment, which is in an area between UNLV and McCarran International Airport that houses shuttle and limousine companies.

A woman who was reportedly the person who called 911 and knew the people involved in the homicide stood on the other side of the yellow police tape. She appeared distraught as she informed someone she spoke to on her cellphone about the slayings, telling that person she wasn't allowed into her apartment. "Tell...I'm sorry. I didn't want her to see it on the news."

She didn't want to speak to reporters.