Metro Police officers and a crime scene analyst are shown near an apartment after a fatal stabbing at Budget Suites in the 8400 block of South Las Vegas Boulevard on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017.
Published Monday, Nov. 20, 2017 | 12:49 p.m.
Updated Monday, Nov. 20, 2017 | 8:45 p.m.
Marcus Maddox
Clark County Child Protective Services personnel searching for two children after a failed Sunday night murder-suicide attempt involving their parents found a girl fatally stabbed and her brother with life-threatening injuries Monday morning in a south valley long-term rental hotel, according to Metro Police.
Investigators believe the attack on the children, who they say was perpetrated by their father, occurred at least 15 hours before it was discovered, Metro homicide unit Lt. Dan McGrath said.
The 15-year-old boy, who was stabbed multiple times and suffered a fractured skull, is in “bad shape” at University Medical Center, said McGrath Monday afternoon from outside the Budget Suites in the 8400 block of Las Vegas Boulevard South, where police were called to about 11:15 Monday morning. “It’s a miracle that that child lived and is still alive.”
The 13-year-old girl, who earlier this month made allegations of sexual abuse against her father, suffered a mortal stab wound to her chest, said McGrath, theorizing that her injuries had not been survivable.
CPS and Metro were investigating the sexual abuse allegations. The father on Monday evening was identified as Marcus Maddox, 30.
McGrath on Monday afternoon said via online broadcast: "I can tell you that we have a lot of questions on how this was handled between CPS and the follow-up investigation."
That's because Metro officers investigating Sunday were searching for the girl and knew of two addresses but not the correct one.
“We didn’t have this address (Sunday night),” McGrath said. "But apparently CPS had this address, so I don’t know if there was miscommunication, but they tried to locate the child on the crime report for the sexual abuse."
And it wasn't until Monday morning that the CPS case worker responding to a notification of Sunday's incident conducted a welfare check on the third floor of the long-term hotel and found a bloody scene when a property manager opened the unit, McGrath said.
Clark County officials are reviewing the case and will share their findings with Metro "to better understand what transpired and what each agency knew at the time of the event," a county spokesman said.
The investigation was launched about 6 p.m. Sunday when officers and medics responded to a call from Maddox to the Siegel Suites, another long-term rental hotel, 5230 E. Craig Road, police said.
There they found a woman suffering from blunt force trauma to her head and Maddox, who'd she separated from about three weeks ago, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, McGrath said. Both are in critical condition at UMC and unable to speak with investigators.
That room was rented sometime Sunday and registered to the couple, McGrath said. The Las Vegas Boulevard location also was rented under both names.
Detectives continued to try to piece together the series of events on what exactly transpired, McGrath said. They are trying to determine what time the children were stabbed and if their mother was kidnapped by Maddox before he struck her on the head with an unknown object.
They also are trying to find a motive for the attacks and killing. The girl, through her school, on Nov. 9 had made sexual abuse allegations against Maddox, which were handled with authorities, McGrath said.
In an interview with investigators, Maddox denied the allegations and verbally agreed to a no-contact, noncourt-mandated order with the children through CPS while the probe concluded, McGrath said. That investigation was ongoing and there wasn't enough evidence to arrest him then, he added.
Maddox and the woman, who was identified as being about 30 years old, had split about three weeks ago and Maddox had moved away, McGrath said. Maddox has a history of violence, which previously landed him in prison.
It's not clear “if it’s the breakup that led him to this level of violence or something about the allegation,” McGrath said. “It’s a very disturbing case obviously for everyone involved.”
Maddox was booked in absentia at the Clark County Detention Center on one count of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, mayhem with a deadly weapon and battery resulting in substantial bodily harm, discharging a gun in a building and unlawful gun possession for Sunday’s murder-suicide attempt, police said.
He will purportedly face additional charges in connection to the killing of his daughter and attempted murder of his son.
Police want anyone with information on the family’s whereabouts in the days leading up to the violent incidents to contact Metro detectives at 702-828-3521 or via email at [email protected]. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or online at crimestoppesrofnv.com.
