Man, paroled in 2021, facing murder charge in 2003 Henderson death
A man is in custody in connection with a cold-case homicide that occurred in 2003 in Henderson.
Ricky Lee Trader, 47, was picked up by authorities on July 16 in Reno and extradited to the Henderson Detention Center on Tuesday, according to a Henderson Police Department release.
Police say the body of Theresa Romano, 28, was discovered Sept. 4, 2003, at a residence on the 200 block of Gold Street. She had died from multiple stab wounds to the neck, police said.
Court records show that in 2006, Trader was ordered to serve life in prison with the possibility of parole for the September 2003 killing of Robert Wittwer.
Trader was paroled in September 2021, according to Nevada Department of Corrections records.
He is now facing a charge of open murder in connection with Romano’s death after new DNA testing linked him to the crime scene, police said.
Two deaths in September 2003
At around 2:15 p.m. on Sept. 4, 2003, Henderson police officers responded to a call about a woman, who was later identified as Romano, found dead inside a bedroom.
The Clark County coroner’s office ruled that Romano’s cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the neck, believed to have been caused by a pair of scissors found under her body when she was moved, the report said.
On Sept. 10, 2003, Trader was arrested hours after another body — a man’s — was found in a residence near the intersection of Lake Mead Drive and Boulder Highway, according to a Review-Journal report.
The victim was later identified as 47-year-old Wittwer, and Trader was booked into Henderson Detention Center facing a murder charge.
Reportedly confided in a friend
On Sept. 17, 2003, a woman named Sherry Wright told detectives that she had been friends with Trader. Just days before Wittwer was murdered, Wright told police, Trader mumbled to her that “there was blood all over the place and she wouldn’t shut up,” and “I’ve got to get her off my mind, I’ve made a mess.”
On Feb. 23, 2004, forensic results came back identifying fingerprints collected from around Romano’s apartment as belonging to Trader.
Interview from prison
Years later, on Sept. 1, 2010, detectives traveled to Ely State Prison to interview Trader, the arrest report said. Trader was incarcerated at the time for the murder of Wittwer, records show.
In the interview, Trader told detectives that he had had a sexual relationship with Romano in the months before her death.
He told detectives that the last time he saw Romano was at a local casino, the report said.
A cold case gets warmer
Cold case investigators reviewed the case in 2021, submitting new evidence for testing that had never been examined before, according to the report. This included the pair of scissors found under Romano’s body.
DNA swabs stored in the Henderson Police Department’s evidence vault were sent to the Metropolitan Police Department’s forensic laboratory on Jan. 25 of this year, the report said.
Metro received permission to test Romano’s fingernail clippings and underwear for DNA, as officials believed she had struggled with whoever had killed her, according to the report.
Authorities said both samples were a match with Trader’s DNA.
On July 16, the same day Trader had a monthly check-in with his parole officer scheduled, detectives interviewed him. Trader admitted to knowing Romano but denied ever having a sexual relationship with her or having anything to do with her death.
The report said that he told detectives there was “no way” his DNA would be found on the victim or at the crime scene, because he wasn’t there. Trader also denied ever giving any statements to detectives from Ely State Prison.
On Monday morning, Trader was taken into custody. He is scheduled to appear in Henderson Justice Court on Thursday morning.
Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estelleatkinsonreports on Instagram and @estellelilym on X. Digital content producer Tony Garcia contributed to this report.
