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North Las Vegas police say man killed grandmother, self in January

Updated April 30, 2018 - 9:07 pm

A North Las Vegas man killed his 87-year-old grandmother in January before shooting himself in the head, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has learned.

While conducting a welfare check on Jan. 29, North Las Vegas police found the bodies of Toluieh Maani and her grandson, 34-year-old Nima Maani, in their home on the 5700 block of Hannah Brook Street, near North Pecos Road. Police spokesman Eric Leavitt said the two lived together in the home.

The Review-Journal learned of the murder-suicide on Monday after North Las Vegas police announced that a deadly shooting Sunday night at a party was the ninth homicide investigated by the department this year. Review-Journal records indicated that North Las Vegas police had only investigated eight killings.

Police made few details surrounding the murder-suicide available Monday, but the Clark County coroner’s office determined that Toluieh Maani died of asphyxiation and ruled her death a homicide. Her grandson, Nima Maani, died from a single gunshot wound to the head. His death was ruled a suicide.

Leavitt told the Review-Journal that the department did not announce the deaths because it was not immediately clear how they had occurred. The coroner’s office took at least a month to rule on the causes of the deaths, Leavitt said.

The spokesman did not release a motive. He said officers had been called to the Maani residence at least once in the past, but patrol officers were not regularly dispatched to the house.

Toluieh Maani’s killing was the 19th homicide in the county this year and the third investigated by North Las Vegas police, according to Review-Journal records.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.

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