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March 28, 2024

Coroner identifies two dead in murder-suicide

Family of Sarah Elizabeth Wayson has ties to Steve Wynn

Updated Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009 | 1:04 p.m.

Murder-Suicide Investigation

Metro Police investigate at the scene of an apparent murder-suicide at 1292 Sun Village Ave. Monday, September 14, 2009. Launch slideshow »

Beyond the Sun

The Clark County Coroner's Office has identified a woman and man found by a housekeeper Monday in their south Las Vegas Valley home.

Police responded about 1 p.m. Monday to the home at 1292 Sun Village Ave., which is east of Maryland Parkway and north of St. Rose Parkway. The woman, 29-year-old Sarah Elizabeth Wayson of Las Vegas, died of multiple gunshot wounds and the death was ruled a homicide, a spokeswoman for the coroner's office said today.

Wayson was the daughter of the late Edward Wayson, an influential lawyer and lobbyist in Annapolis, Md., who supported gambling interests in his state and who died at age 54 in 2004 from a heart condition.

Edward Wayson was a legal advisor to Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn, according to an obituary in The Washington Post. Wynn got his start at Wayson's Bingo, a 750-seat hall owned by the Wayson family in Annapolis.

Sarah Wayson graduated from Annapolis High School in 1998. She went to UNLV in spring 2008 to study to become a teacher. She had started student-teaching at Del Webb Middle School on Aug. 24.

The coroner also identified 40-year-old Eric Austin Bray, who Metro Police discovered upstairs at the home. The coroner said Bray died from a gunshot wound to the head and ruled the death a suicide. Police have said the bodies could have been inside the home since Friday or Saturday.

Las Vegas resident Brian Kay said Wednesday he had known Sarah Wayson for about two years.

"She is a woman whom I consider my best friend in the world," he said Wednesday afternoon.

Sarah Wayson had worked at the Wynn, but decided to go back to graduate school and get a master's in education, Kay said. He said Wayson recently received her teacher's certification in south Florida and was excited about a possible move there.

"I was privileged and blessed in the two years I knew her," Kay said. "That was the beauty of her. She was loved by so many people and she loved them back. There's a hole in my heart. I will love her forever."

Metro Police said today that Eric Bray has not been arrested in Clark County since 1994 and has a "very minimal" criminal history.

He had never been arrested for domestic violence in the Las Vegas Valley, said Officer Barbara Morgan, spokeswoman for the police department.

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