Lawsuit: Metro officers didn’t intervene as woman stabbed 68 times

Las Vegas police officers stood outside listening as a 74-year-old woman was stabbed 68 times and killed by one of her sons in her home, a lawsuit filed Saturday alleged.

How the Metropolitan Police Department responded to the event prompted the woman’s other sons to file a lawsuit alleging, among other things, negligence and wrongful death.

The Review-Journal previously reported that Paula Prada Zuniga, of Las Vegas, was pronounced dead in the living room of her apartment on September 14, 2022. That evening, police found Zuniga lying on her stomach with multiple stab wounds after an argument with her son, Pablo Enrique Bonilla, who was then 34.

Bonilla was arrested and booked on one charge of murder of an elderly or protected person. After pleading guilty in 2023, he was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.

The negligence suit also names Zuniga’s other son, Cesar Colunga Prado, as the witness who called 911. Colunga, whose name was redacted in Bonilla’s arrest report, was inside the residence at the beginning of the altercation but fled to a neighbor’s house for help. He told police that his brother was armed with kitchen knives and threatening their mother, according to the complaining documents.

Bonilla’s arrest report said that officers “challenged the apartment” using a vehicle bullhorn because the apartment’s patio and front door were guarded by metal gates. About 30 minutes after they arrived, they heard Zuniga screaming for help, according to the lawsuit. Afterward, Bonilla appeared at the doorway of the apartment, covered in blood, police said. He was taken into custody.

“LVMPD failed to use proper rescue procedures to save Prada Zuniga when they knew that she was in mortal danger, and worse when they could hear her screaming for help,” the lawsuit alleges. “In the time it took for Bonilla to stab Prada Zuniga 68 times, the LVMPD officers who wanted to intervene had sufficient time to enter the apartment and engage Bonilla with force.”

Ryan Alexander, the attorney representing Zuniga’s sons, declined to comment further on the lawsuit. Court documents show that the plaintiffs seek nearly $700,000 in damages, citing loss of earnings, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.

Metro declined to comment on the lawsuit Thursday.

“We do not comment on any pending litigation,” said a statement from Metro’s public information office.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.