Monday, March 6, 2017 | 1:15 p.m.
CARSON CITY — The Nevada Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a Las Vegas prostitute convicted of first-degree murder in the death of a client who was stabbed 28 times and whose cellphone, credit cards and car were stolen.
Elita Maldonado asserted there was insufficient evidence to convict her in the slaying of William Sanford and that she was not guilty by reason of insanitary.
Maldonado said she was using drugs and had hallucinations that led her to believe Sanford knew where her children were and that he had control over them, according to court records.
She hit Sanford in the head with a 40-pound weight and stabbed him with a kitchen knife, according to records. She admitted to police she had killed Sanford and said her hallucinations were brought on by the use of crystal methamphetamine, according to records.
The court ruled there was sufficient evidence that Maldonado killed Sanford in a “willful, deliberate and premeditated” manner. It rejected a claim that her admission to detectives should have been suppressed at trial.
The court also rejected her claim that she should have been allowed to change her plea to guilty but mentally ill after the jury rendered its verdict.
Maldonado was sentenced in April 2015 to 28 years to life in prison.
