Wednesday, May 28, 1997 | 10:48 a.m.
Fourteen-year-old Harold Jordan Iverson told Metro Police he feels responsible for his little sister's death at the Primm Valley hotel-casino where the two had been playing in the arcade while their father gambled downstairs.
"He was blaming himself," homicide Sgt. Bill Keeton said after interviewing the boy. "That's too much for a 14-year-old to put on himself."
Sherrice Iverson, 7, had been playing hide-and-seek in the arcade with a man who would be her killer. She then ran into a restroom, followed by the man.
Sherrice's body was found propped up on a toilet about 5:30 a.m. Sunday in a women's restroom stall near the arcade at Primm Valley, formerly known as Primadonna, one level above the casino where her father was.
The father had arrived in Primm from Los Angeles with his two children about 12:30 a.m., but was ousted from Whiskey Pete's (not from Buffalo Bill's as police had believed earlier) about an hour later for not watching the children. He took his children to Primm Valley, across the highway, where two men started talking to and playing hide-and-seek with Sherrice.
Police believe the men were stalking the girl and probably had gone to the arcade looking for a victim.
In an interview with KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, Harold said his father, 57-year-old LeRoy Iverson, had checked on his children's welfare about every 20 minutes. Harold also told them it was his own responsibility to stay with his half-sister.
"Everywhere I went, she went," said Harold, who lives with his father in South Central L.A. "Everywhere my father went, I went. We stayed together."
He said his mother and a baby brother had died last year and that it was hard on the family. He said he planned to seek counseling. Sherrice's mother had been fighting for custody of her daughter through the courts, police said.
Homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said that while police have notified Los Angeles child welfare officials about the incident, their biggest concern is finding the killer, not seeking possible charges against the father.
Police said Iverson has emotional and physical problems and had to be given an insulin shot to finish his interview with detectives. He didn't book a room at Primm Valley because he had no money, he told police. Rumors that Iverson asked to be comped at the hotel for room and board, while also asking for the cost of funeral services, didn't surprise police.
"I wouldn't be suprised if he did say that to hotel security, but he didn't say it to us," Keeton said.
On Tuesday, Petersen released videotape from the resort showing two men in the arcade with Sherrice 10 minutes before they believe she was killed. The two are considered suspects although only one is believed to be the killer.
Based on an interview with a woman who talked to the suspects, the killer wore a baseball cap backward over his dark hair, had pierced nipples and his tongue was pierced with a stud earring. Based on the woman's statements, the suspects were believed to be from the Los Angeles area, possibly Long Beach, Petersen said.
When asked if he believes of the men in the video could be the killer, Petersen said: "No doubt. The first suspect went into the bathroom."
At 3:48 a.m., the videotape shows Sherrice darting into a restroom. Moments later, the first suspect follows her into the restroom. A minute later, the second suspect, with dark, curly hair and sideburns, appears, approaches the restroom, then walks away.
Twenty-five minutes later, the first suspect is seen leaving the restroom, alone.
For those 25 minutes, "several people" walked in and out of the restroom, but apparently didn't know a crime was being committed because the killer had taken Sherrice into a closed stall, Petersen said.
About 10 minutes after exiting the restroom, both suspects can be seen on the videotape leaving the Primm Valley through the swimming pool entrance, Keeton said. The resort doesn't have surveillance cameras in the parking lot or pool area, so police don't know where they went after that.
At 5:30 a.m., a security officer noticed that the same feet -- Sherrice's -- could be seen under the restroom stall for more than an hour. Concerned, the employee looked in and discovered Sherrice's body.
The girl had been raped, hit and choked to death, Petersen said.
Keeton said detectives were sending a flier with the suspects' photos to law enforcement agencies throughout the West. If they have to, they'll send the mailer to all the guests booked into the Primm Valley's 2,700 rooms that night in hopes that someone saw something that could be useful in the investigation.
Meanwhile, Long Beach Police are "busting their butts" checking their records to see if the descriptions of the suspects fit any known sex offenders in their jurisdiction, Keeton said.
Homicide detectives manned their phones Tuesday night after newscasts for tips.
"We got 20 calls from Los Angeles," Keeton said. "We have some leads to follow up."
The crime scene -- the restroom at Primm Valley -- "remains locked today," Keeton said, in case "an expert wants to go back next week, then we can go into the scene and it hasn't been touched."
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