Death and debauchery

by Jessica Kane, special to Stiffs & Georges

Nicknamed the City of Sin, Las Vegas is no stranger obscene behavior. Only, not all guests are satisfied by the usual debauchery. Read along to learn about six shocking crimes committed in Vegas hotels. 

Going Up in Flames

Late in the evening on February 10, 1981, onlookers gasped in shock as flames shot out of the Las Vegas Hilton‘s  upper-level windows and danced up the sides of the building. By the time the fire was extinguished, it claimed a total of eight lives and injured several hundred more. Determined to establish a cause, officials soon discovered the fire, which appeared to be set intentionally, had been started in one of the hotel’s elevator lobbies. With that, they developed suspicions of the hotel’s 23-year-old busboy, Philip Bruce Cline. Following a brief investigation, Cline was arrested for multiple counts of arson and murder. A year later, a jury ruled Cline guilty of all convictions and sentenced him to eight consecutive life sentences without parole. While tragic, the deathly Hilton fire helped ignite an international overhaul of building codes. 

Reclaimed Property 

On a typical night, the Palace Station Hotel & Casino is a place where gamblers and show-goers can claim a pillow after a long night on the Strip. However, in September of 2007, Room 1203 (demolished in a recent makeover of the property) became the target of an unusual heist. O.J. Simpson, the retired running back and subject of a highly criticized murder trial, posed as a collector in hopes of reclaiming missing personal memorabilia. He, and his crew of menacing and heavily armed accomplices, posed as collectors and went to meet a group of men selling the goods. Shortly after arriving, Simpson and the gang threatened the men, then bagged up the sports relics and took off into the night. Following the debacle, Simpson was arraigned and convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping charges. In a twist of fate, he was slapped with a 7 ½-to-27-year term in a Nevada correctional facility, a sentence many felt he should have already been serving. 

Setting the Stage for Suicide

 In 2012, Room 35811 at Las Vegas’s iconic MGM Grand hotel became the stage for a dramatic suicide. Late in the evening, a suspected fraudster, 46-year-old Elizabeth DeMaria, tossed her laptop over the edge of her 35th-floor hotel room balcony and then proceeded to jump to her untimely death. The incident followed investigators’ attempt to serve DeMaria with an arrest warrant. It turns out that the Las Vegas woman had collected over $200,000 in investments for a nonexistent television network she had referred to as the “Vegas Channel.” She’d deposited the funds into a personal bank account and used them to purchase luxury goods and services in the Vegas area. She’d then jumped bail and assumed a fake identity to rent the MGM room. While a fake password found in the room suggested that DeMaria intended to flee the country, she ultimately saw no way out.

A Heist to Make History

 In September of 2005, a fugitive by the name of Heather Tallchief turned herself in to Vegas authorities and admitted to her involvement in an unsolved heist that took place outside of Vegas’s Circus Circus hotel. Over a decade earlier, Tallchief and her then-boyfriend, Robert Solis, apprehended an armored Loomis Fargo truck and took off with the $295 million dollars inside it. Tallchief had been working for the security company and had earned the trust of her fellow employees. However, her true intentions were revealed when she was left alone in the vehicle. Shortly after seizing the money, the couple split ways. According to Tallchief, Solis took all but a small stipend and cut off contact with her. She then fled to Amsterdam and gave birth to their son. She turned herself in when she felt her son was old enough to fend for himself. Tallchief was sentenced to five years in prison. Solis and the missing money are still at large. 

A Vacation Cut Short

 In June of 2018, two Vietnamese tourists, Sang Boi Nghia, and Khuong Ba Le Nguyen, became the random victims of a vacation nightmare. When the couple, who were a part of a large tour group, failed to show for a scheduled tour of the Grand Canyon, the group notified officials at the Circus Circus hotel where they’d been staying. Security officers descended upon the room and found a gruesome scene. The couple was found dead, both with multiple stab wounds. 

While investigators first treated the incident as a murder-suicide, they soon learned that the victims were brutally murdered by a 31-year-old man who’d broken into the room and robbed them. The man, Julius Trotter, was known as a “pusher,” or someone who wanders through hotel hallways checking to see if doors are locked. Unfortunately, the tourists’ door had a broken latch that allowed Trotter to enter without forcing his way in. As such, their death served as a harsh reminder for hotel guests to always double check their room locks. 

Mass Murder at Mandalay Bay

 On October 1st, 2017, the crowded Route 91 Harvest Music Festival was interrupted by a stream of steady gunfire. The shooter, Stephen Paddock, fired over 1,000 rounds from his suite on the 32nd floor the Mandalay Bay hotel which overlooked the festival. In 10 minutes, Paddock had committed the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States. The incident and aftermath were unspeakably horrid, with 58 people dead and hundreds more injured and traumatized by the incident. As the investigation ensued, investigators tried to make sense of the horror. Soon, their focus was turned to Room 32-124, an expansive suite at Mandalay Bay. 

Paddock had spent five days hauling suitcase after suitcase filled with automatic rifles and ammunition into this room. He’d ridden the elevator, conversed with employees, and even spent his evenings gambling alongside fellow guests. All the while, he was transforming his room into a deadly arsenal. Late in the evening on the fifth night of his stay, Paddock executed his sick plan and then, cornered, shot a bullet through his skull. While victims and relatives of the deceased sought answers, investigators were unable to find a clear motive for his actions. 

The crime rate in Las Vegas is disproportionately higher than the rest of the nation. As a tourist hub and hot spot for illicit nighttime behavior, the Vegas hotel industry has seen its fair share of obscene and downright horrid crimes, and will probably continue to do so.