LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A North Las Vegas Police Department arrest report revealed that a suspect admitted to striking his niece and covering her mouth before she was found unresponsive and ultimately died from her injuries.
Leooolo Jonas Tevaseu was arrested on April 18 and is facing charges of open murder and child abuse or neglect. NLVPD officers were dispatched just before 11 a.m. that morning following a report of a two-year-old child who was not breathing.
Police arrived at a residence on the 3400 block of Mercury Street and members of North Las Vegas Fire Rescue and Medic West were already attempting resuscitative measures on the toddler. She was taken to UMC Pediatric Division for further treatment.
The suspect identified himself to police and said that he lived at the residence and was babysitting his sister’s children while she was at the DMV. Two other juveniles were present when police responded to the scene.
The victim was pronounced dead at 11:38 a.m. Doctors observed damage inside the child’s mouth and told police that “these injuries are commonly seen consistent with pressure being applied to the face by a hand or instrument that restricts breathing.” The girl had no known medical problems.
The suspect agreed to speak with investigators, who noted that his story changed multiple times. Initially, he told police that his niece seemed “out of it, but into it,” and he said she “looked sick, but not that sick” that morning.
He also said that the girl was “swaying,” which caused her to fall while playing with her sisters. Police informed Tevaseu that the victim’s death was not due to playing with her siblings.
Tevaseu then explained that the victim was climbing on furniture and he slapped her leg, causing her to cry. He said he then hit her with a red pillow and she later fell over and became unresponsive.
In the third version of his story, police said the suspect admitted to hitting her with his hand “because she would not stop crying” before striking her with the pillow. The suspect then said “she would just (expletive) scream. Scream, scream, scream,” and he told police he put his hand over her mouth for approximately 30 seconds. He denied using the pillow.
Tevaseu was placed under arrest and taken to the North Las Vegas Detective Bureau where police continued the recorded interview.
In what police called the “fifth/final version” of his story, the suspect said he slapped the child in the face, hit her with a pillow, picked her up and “held her like a baby” and then used his hand to cover her mouth. He demonstrated the way he did this using a doll.
The suspect was booked into the North Las Vegas Community Corrections Center.
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