Coroner names woman, 85, killed in home invasion attack
The Clark County coroner’s office has identified a woman who died Thursday, a little over a week after police said she was attacked by a home invader.
She was 85-year-old Mary Lacella, the coroner’s office said, and she died of complications of blunt force injuries to the head. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Police were called to Lacella’s apartment at the Galleria Palms Apartments, 625 Whitney Ranch Road, after she reported that a man had broken into her apartment, attacked her and ran away around 5:50 a.m. on April 21. Lacella was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center after officers said they found her with multiple facial fractures and a brain bleed.
Officers had been called to the complex earlier that day, around 5:18 a.m., in response to reports of a man looking through parked cars with a flashlight, the report said. When they arrived, they did not find the man, police said.
Police identified the suspect, 27-year-old Demetrius Walker, who they said has been arrested numerous times and booked under multiple variations of the spelling of his first and last names.
Walker is charged with felony counts of murder, home invasion, attempted robbery, battery with intent to commit mayhem, robbery or grand larceny against an older person, burglary of a business, and two counts of obtaining or possessing a credit or debit card without the cardholder’s permission, court records show.
He remained in the Clark County Detention Center on Tuesday without bail, court records show. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 12.
Contact Alexis Ford at aford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexisdford on Twitter.
