Cause of death undetermined for woman whose body was found in desert

More than eight months after Lesly Palacio’s body was found near Valley of Fire State Park, the Clark County coroner’s office on Wednesday said it could not determine how the woman died.

Palacio’s cause and manner of death were both ruled undetermined, the coroner’s office said, meaning its investigators could not confidently conclude if her death was accidental, natural, a homicide or a suicide.

Her decomposed body was found Sept. 9 in Moapa Valley near the state park, police have said. Erick Rangel-Ibarra, a 25-year-old family friend, faces a murder charge in connection with her death.

He remained at large as of Wednesday, court records show.

Surveillance footage capturing the night Palacio disappeared on Aug. 28 showed her having drinks and dinner with Rangel-Ibarra. Home surveillance footage later captured Rangel-Ibarra and his father, 46-year-old Jose Rangel, carrying an apparently lifeless Palacio into the passenger side of the younger man’s pickup truck.

Months later, Jose Rangel would admit to helping his son drag the 22-year-old woman’s body out of their Las Vegas home and flee to Mexico, according to grand jury transcripts. The father told detectives he did not notice any physical injuries on her body.

Jose Rangel, who has been charged with destroying evidence and accessory to commit murder, told police that after Palacio died, he and his son gathered money and drove to Mexico, where they eventually split up, according to court transcripts.

In January, Jose Rangel turned himself in at a border crossing in San Diego, and remained in the Clark County Detention Center on Wednesday with a $100,000 bail, court records show.

Metropolitan Police Department homicide detective Breck Hodson told a grand jury that Jose Rangel helped his son get Palacio’s body out of their home before other family members saw. At some point, Rangel-Ibarra called a friend, asking for gas and saying, “I killed a (expletive), and I can’t be seen on video surveillance buying gas.”

A jury trial for Jose Rangel is scheduled for June 7, court records show.

Anyone with information about Rangel-Ibarra’s whereabouts may contact Las Vegas police at 702-828-3521 or, to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.