Suspect in slaying of local musician had been deported twice, was caught with 50 pounds of pot

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Friday, Jan. 13, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Anticipating a cleaning crew's morning arrival last summer, longtime Las Vegas musician Mary Trimble left her door unlocked before going to bed.

It's in her bed where two women who showed up for the appointment found Trimble's body face-down — her feet and hands tied and her mouth gagged. The townhouse also had been ransacked, according to court documents obtained this week.

Hours before the appointment and during the early-morning hours of July 20, a man who lived and had children with one of the two cleaning women showed up to Trimble’s house with at least one other person to burglarize it, Metro Police said. The burglars took jewelry, a cellphone, items from Trimble’s purse and prescription medication.

The 70-year-old Trimble — whose house is in a gated community near Desert Inn and Mojave roads — died of asphyxiation, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.

When Jorge Vasquez-Rivero was arrested toward the end of last year by the FBI on an illegal-re-entry warrant — because he had twice been deported, in 2005 and 2009 — agents found him in possession of 50 pounds of marijuana, police said.

Police recently named Vasquez-Rivero as one of the suspects in Trimble's slaying. As of last week, he remained in federal custody in an unrelated case.

Metro investigators are expecting to book him on counts of murder, kidnapping, burglary and drug possession after his federal case is processed.

It wasn't long after Trimble's death that investigators linked Vasquez-Rivero to her slaying, police said. Surveillance video from Trimble's gated community showed two or three people near the back patio about 2:45 a.m., during the time police believe the burglary occurred.

The suspects entered through the front door, locked it and fled through the patio's sliding door, police said. The cleaning women entered through the sliding door when they encountered a locked front door. First responders were summoned about 10 a.m.

Detectives traced Vasquez-Rivero shortly after the slaying through records of a previous pawn shop visit and a GPS ping from Trimble’s stolen phone, police said.

After following Vasquez-Rivero for several days, authorities served a warrant at his house on Aug. 2 and took DNA from him and the cleaning woman, police said.

Also according to the report:

Vasquez-Rivero's and the woman's DNA matched that found on one of the shirts used to tie up Trimble. Unknown DNA from a male was found on zip ties used to restrain the victim. The woman told police she had left some of her clothes in the vehicle police believe Vasquez-Rivero used during the burglary.

The woman has told detectives that although she and Vasquez-Rivero live together, they no longer have a relationship and that she’s afraid of him because he is physically abusive. Jail and court logs don't show that the woman has been accused in the killing. It wasn't immediately clear if she's considered a suspect.

When pressed by detectives during a polygraph exam, she told them that she and her young daughter were with Vasquez-Rivero in the hours leading up to the slaying when he went to meet men at a slot parlor parking lot.

She said she "had a feeling" they were "planning to do something" but she didn't know what. She added that afterward, Vasquez-Rivero took them home and they went to sleep. Records of the couple’s cellphones show that both devices were off during the burglary and weren’t turned on until 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on July 20.

Detectives in the report wrote that the woman may have inadvertently provided Vasquez-Rivero information on Trimble and her habit of leaving the door unlocked for the cleaning crew.

The woman told police that in the past when they had a better relationship, she would share details about the houses she cleaned and that perhaps she'd spoken about Trimble.

In a voluntary interview with Metro detectives, Vasquez-Rivero admitted to holding the 50 pounds of marijuana for a friend but denied any involvement in Trimble's death.

In the 1970s, Trimble was a violist in showrooms at Caesars Palace and the old Desert Inn, performing with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., a friend said. She also was a founding member of the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Nevada Chamber Symphony.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Metro at 702-828-3521 or via email at [email protected]. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or online at crimestoppersofnv.com.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to indicate DNA found on zip ties used to restrain the victim came from an unknown source. | (January 13, 2017)