Man convicted in slaying of 21-year-old Las Vegas woman

Family and friends of MaKayla Rhiner wept and hugged as a 34-year-old Las Vegas man was convicted of first-degree murder Friday in her fatal stabbing.

“We’ve all held our breaths for the last 11 months,” the 21-year-old woman’s mother, Lynn Pingol, said outside a Las Vegas courtroom. “And this was our big exhale.”

On Pingol’s left calf, she had a tattoo with the words “We’ll always be together forever & ever” etched above an image of the Eiffel Tower, Winnie the Pooh in a cowboy hat and her daughter’s name.

“When she was little, she would twirl on my bed and sing, ‘We’ll always be together forever and ever’ at the top of her lungs and then jump in my arms,’” Pingol said after marshals whisked Brandon Hanson away in handcuffs.

Hanson faces life in prison without the possibility of parole at a sentencing set for Aug. 7, four days after the anniversary of Rhiner’s death.

A jury of seven men and five women took about six hours to find Hanson guilty on all charges he faced at trial, including burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon, robbery with use of a deadly weapon and two counts of breaking into vehicles.

Hanson claimed that he was depressed over the couple’s breakup, and at trial his attorney, Ryan Helmick, argued that the August killing was not premeditated, asking jurors for a verdict of voluntary manslaughter.

Rhiner was found dead after having suffered multiple stab wounds to the chest and neck, along with head trauma, Aug. 3 in her apartment complex on the 8000 block of West Russell Road, near Buffalo Drive.

Rhiner and Hanson had dated for about three months after meeting while attending classes at College of Southern Nevada, police said at the time. Their relationship ended two months before Rhiner was killed.

Hanson threatened to commit suicide after the breakup and vandalized cars belonging to Rhiner’s mother and her new boyfriend. He confessed to the killing in an interview with detectives and said he had suffered from severe depression.

Hanson told police he had gone to Rhiner’s home intending to discuss their relationship, but “grew angry and stabbed her in the neck when she dismissed the ideology of their relationship,” according to his arrest report.

Pingol said she would remember her daughter’s energy and enthusiasm for life.

“We miss her so much,” she said.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.