LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Las Vegas woman was shot and killed in front of her children Monday night, and the suspect was arrested after police tracked him to a bar using cellphone location data, police documents indicated.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police initially received 911 calls around 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 1 reporting possible fireworks, a police report said. The caller was transferred to 311, but then said they saw a person on the ground and another person fleeing.
Arriving officers found a woman who had been shot. Crews attempted to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene, documents said.
Police documents said a witness identified the victim as Christina Kelly, adding that they had heard arguing outside their door earlier in the night. Police reviewed surveillance video from the Palms Hotel & Casino and the apartment complex. The same car seen at the crime scene was identified on video at the Palms earlier in the night, with the suspect, identified as Richard Watson, 41, seen entering and exiting the vehicle.
The car arrived at Watson’s apartment just after 7 p.m., the report indicated. Surveillance video later showed Kelly and Watson leaving her apartment, with Kelly carrying a child and another child following.
In the video, Kelly and Watson walked to the parking lot and began placing a child carrier in the car. Documents indicated Watson was seen on video grabbing the child out of Kelly’s arms with his left hand and shooting Kelly with the other.
Police documents said Kelly fell to the ground as Watson continued to shoot while still holding the child. Watson then placed both children in the vehicle and left the area.
Investigators learned from Kelly’s mother that both children belonged to Watson and Kelly, the report said. Kelly’s mother’s first reaction to the police was to say, “What did Richard do now?”
After an investigation using cell phone location pings to locate his vehicle, Watson was arrested inside a bar, according to documents. Police said they found text messages on another person’s phone allegedly sent from Watson saying, “I killed her.”
A family member came to the scene to find the children. Police later located them at Watson’s father’s house, the report indicated. Watson’s father initially claimed the children had been there all day, but later said his son had asked him to take care of them on short notice.
Watson was booked into the Clark County Detention Center and faces charges of open murder with a dangerous weapon.
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