Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Year after woman’s Las Vegas slaying, family still seeking justice in unsolved case

Celia Luna-Delgado

Wade Vandervort

Sheyla Padilla speaks at a news conference for the unsolved murder of her mother, Celia Luna-Delgado Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019.

Celia Luna-Delgado Justice for Families Press Conference

A candle is lit during a Justice for Families press conference for the unsolved murder of Celia Luna-Delgado Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. Luna-Delgado was killed during a robbery by two suspects who have still not been apprehended. Anyone with tips can call (702) 828-3521, email homicide@lvmpd.com or text CRIMENV along with tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Launch slideshow »

As if she knew her deep sorrow would surely manifest itself, Sheyla Padilla inhaled deeply.

And when police began to discuss the source of her anguish, she pursed her lips. Her eyes wandered the room.

Soon it was her turn to speak about Celia Luna-Delgado: her mother, whom she considered her best friend, was killed by a pair of would-be robbers as she arrived to work a year ago.

Not two sentences into her plea to the community to help find her killers, Padilla's mask cracked and she began to cry.

Since Jan. 11, 2018, homicide detectives have chased down every lead and were hoping Thursday's Justice for Families media event at the Bolden Area Command substation would spawn new tips.

It’s been months since they received the last one, said Lt. Ray Spencer, noting Luna-Delgado’s case is one of his homicide unit's top priorities, and is often discussed.

“You have a mother — and a grandmother — who was going to work and was senselessly murdered during a robbery. Senselessly murdered,” said Spencer before turning to look at the family. "Seeing the family today, it should trouble everybody."

That fateful morning, Luna-Delgado, 55, was walking into work at a check cashing location in the 1400 block of Jones Boulevard, when she was approached by two men, perhaps as young as 16, police said.

The intended robbery was somehow foiled and one of the suspects shot her in the back with a revolver before they both fled on foot, police said. The victim called 911 at about 9:15 a.m. and died at University Medical Center.

The suspects concealed their faces with surgical masks and wore dark clothes, police said at the time.

They fled with no money. It was learned that they might have attempted to open the locked door at another location in the same shopping center the previous day.

Tissues were passed out to wipe tears. A dozen or so family members and friends — who stood behind a table topped with glass candles wrapped with Luna-Delgado’s photo — were joined by police officials. Signs with the victim’s photo were hoisted.

Closure is unachievable, but healing can commence when the perpetrators are in handcuffs, said Padilla, later noting that her mother was left to die alone.

She also referenced justice, the divine kind, and the one she hopes will be served in a court of law.

But either way, she said, nothing will bring back her mother. It “will just make it a little bit more tolerable,” she said, shedding tears. “We’re trying to move forward.”

Imagine yourself in the same scenario, said Metro Capt. Yesenia Yatomi, addressing a camera, the footage of which will be uploaded to Metro’s social media channels.

She didn’t mince her words when she described the killers as “cowards, absolute cowards.”

Padilla’s pain was more noticeable on Thursday than a week after the slaying, when she addressed the public for the first time. Funeral planning and the shock had numbed the realization that her mother was gone.

But it’s been a rough year, she said.

For about eight months, she would go to pick up her phone to call her mother like always: perhaps a food recipe, an explanation about a document, a question about anything and everything.

She can’t bring herself to watch videos that show her mother’s infectious laughter, although she misses it. She can’t hear recordings of her voice.

The family has to adjust to the idea that Luna-Delgado is gone, Padilla said. Whether it's birthdays, vacations and growing grandchildren, life has to move on without her mother.

The day she died, Luna-Delgado was supposed to travel Mexico to visit a grandchild, and Padilla can’t help but think about the would-haves.

What if her mother didn’t go to work; what if she’d moved with her to Utah like they’d discussed, and what if the suspects had opted to push the 5-foot-1-inch woman instead of shooting her?

“Why kill her?” she wondered.

Her heart has forgiven the killers, but she’s also human, Padilla said. “There’s no turning back for our family, but if these people are caught,” she said, then no one else will fall victim to them.

But, there are rules to society. Consequences.

At least that's what Padilla teaches her children, she said, and it's what she wonders if the killers have learned from theirs.

All that's left are the memories.

"She makes me happy," Padilla said.

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 crimestoppesrofnv.com. The owner also is offering a reward.