After more than 2 weeks of trial, the Clark County Court in Nevada on October 29 (US time) issued a "guilty" verdict against defendant Deangilo Trotter.
The jury found the 37-year-old American national had broken into a hotel room and stabbed to death Nghia Boi Sang, 38, and Nguyen Le Ba Khuong, 30, in an apparent bid to rob them. Prosecutors allege Trotter entered the room and killed the two victims after discovering the door lock was broken.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal described that as the judge read the verdict, defendant Trotter stood with his lawyers, repeatedly shaking his head and glancing at the judges.
"If convicted of murder, burglary and armed robbery, defendant Trotter faces life in prison or the death penalty," the US newspaper said.
Defendant Deangilo Trotter was convicted of murdering two Vietnamese tourists. Photo: Las Vegas Review-Journal
The indictment also identified Ms. Nghia as the owner of a travel agency in Ho Chi Minh City, and Mr. Khuong as an employee. Both were tour guides at the time of the murder.
The bodies of two Vietnamese victims were found at the Circus Circus Hotel on June 1, 2018, after they failed to gather with a group of tourists.
Trotter was identified as a murder suspect before he and his girlfriend Itaska Dean were arrested about a week later, following a police chase in Chino, California.
Defendant Trotter was serving a five-year suspended sentence at the time of the killing of the two Vietnamese tourists, after pleading guilty to resisting an officer with a weapon.
Trotter has been in custody in Las Vegas awaiting trial, which has been postponed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pretrial litigation.
Meanwhile, Itaska Dean pleaded guilty in California to evading arrest. She has not been charged with any crime related to the deaths of the two Vietnamese tourists and testified at Trotter’s trial.
At the trial last week, Trotter testified that he had helped sell stolen goods from a friend who had asked him to sell the items belonging to Mr. Khuong and Ms. Sang.
Prosecutors, however, released video footage showing Trotter on a hotel escalator with a backpack that police said contained a bag, two small wallets, a cell phone, jewelry, a watch and Vietnamese currency.
Defense attorney Lisa Rasmussen argued that the court lacked forensic evidence and that Trotter's DNA and fingerprints were not found in the hotel room.
The trial will continue on October 30 (US time).
Source: https://nld.com.vn/my-hung-thu-sat-hai-2-du-khach-viet-doi-dien-an-chung-than-hoac-tu-hinh-196241030171024459.htm
Comment (0)