Man suspected in ex-girlfriend’s killing was ‘severely depressed’

The 33-year-old man arrested in the killing of his ex-girlfriend told police he was severely depressed over the breakup, an arrest report shows.

Brandon Hanson, was booked into Clark County Detention Center on Saturday on suspicion of murder. Police responded to a call of a suspicious death about 7:30 p.m. Thursday at an apartment complex on the 8000 block of West Russell Road, near Buffalo Drive.

Officers found the woman, 21-year-old Makayla Leilani Rhiner, with multiple stab and incision wounds to the chest and neck, the report said. The Metropolitan Police Department initially said the woman appeared to have head trauma.

Rhiner and Hanson had dated for about three months after meeting while attending classes at College of Southern Nevada, the report said. The report said the relationship ended in June.

Hanson took the breakup badly, threatening to commit suicide and vandalizing cars belonging to Rhiner’s mother and her new boyfriend, the report said. He told police he had done everything he was accused of and that he was suffering 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,” the arrest report said.

Contact Bianca Cseke at bcseke@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @biancacseke1 on Twitter.