Man’s Las Vegas death ruled accidental, but murder case will proceed
A man’s January death was ruled an accident, the Clark County coroner’s office said Tuesday.
But that won’t stop prosecutors from pursuing a murder charge in the case.
“The determination of the coroner of accidental is not legally relevant to a determination of legal liability under the felony murder rule, which makes a killing during a robbery a murder, whether the killing is intentional, unintentional or accidental,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo said in a written statement.
Brazilian native Eduardo Gaiolli de Sanchez Osorio, 21, died Jan. 3 after he banged on the windshield and hood of a black Mercedes-Benz and fell when the car took off near Flamingo Road and Koval Lane. Documents released in March revealed how Osorio’s missing watch led investigators to identify Ronneka Guidry, 29, as a murder suspect in his death.
Osorio’s death initially was counted as a traffic fatality, but police changed course two days later, citing new, unspecified information. Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Aden OcampoGomez said Tuesday that Osorio’s death will now be counted as a traffic fatality.
Guidry was indicted in February on charges of murder, robbery, grand larceny and failure to stop at the scene of a crash.
Osorio’s father contacted investigators asking for his son’s passport to help make funeral arrangements, according to police records. He also asked about the Rolex he gave his son for his 18th birthday.
Neither the hospital nor the coroner’s office had seen the watch.
Another man told police that he was with Osorio at a Las Vegas Strip nightclub hours before his death. Footage from the club showed Osorio wearing the watch, which his father estimated to be valued at $8,000. He left the club in a black Mercedes-Benz with a woman, later identified as Guidry, footage from the parking garage showed.
Police tracked Guidry down through the California dealership where she bought the black car in September. In an interview with detectives Jan. 8, Guidry said she gave Osorio a ride but later got into an argument with him. Without being asked, she also told police she did not steal anything from him.
Guidry’s phone had a photo of a watch matching the Rolex’s description that was taken about a half-hour after Osorio was injured, according to police records. She shipped a package to Florida hours after hitting Osorio with the car, according to the police report.
The suspect’s trial is set to begin May 7.
Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.