Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Suspect arrested in death of Las Vegas manicurist

Krystal Whipple

Krystal Whipple

Metro Police say they have arrested a woman accused of running over and killing a nail salon owner with a stolen car after skipping out without paying for a manicure.

Krystal Whipple, 21, was arrested this morning in Phoenix, police said. Details of the arrest were not immediately available.

Whipple is facing felony counts of murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and burglary, Las Vegas Justice Court records show.

After getting a manicure about 3:45 p.m. on Dec. 29, Whipple tried paying with a fraudulent credit card that failed to go through, police said. Whipple said she was going to get cash from the car, but started to drive off, police said.

Surveillance video shows the salon owner, Ngoc Q. Nguyen, get in front of the car, which police say accelerated away, dragging her under the vehicle for some 50 feet. Nguyen, 51, died at University Medical Center.

The car, a rental that had been reported stolen, was found abandoned at a nearby apartment complex, police said.

The Las Vegas Criminal Apprehension Team developed information on Whipple's whereabouts that was passed along to the FBI Phoenix Violent Crime Task Force, police said. The task force located Whipple and took her into custody without incident, police said.