Report outlines new details in Henderson vehicular homicide case

A woman accused of running over and killing her boyfriend in Henderson last week told police she had previously been arrested and accused of hitting a social worker with a vehicle.

Danika Cain, 33, was arrested Feb. 23 on one count of murder, according to court records.

In an interview at the crash site at the intersection of Welpman Way and Las Vegas Boulevard South, Cain told police that the couple had been dating for two years and were just about to sign a lease for a Las Vegas apartment after moving from Louisiana, according to an arrest report from the Henderson Police Department.

While running errands near the crash scene, Cain initially told police that her boyfriend had picked up a hitchhiker. About 10 minutes later, Cain told police that she and her boyfriend had gotten out of the car to argue in the desert when the hitchhiker took the wheel, ran her boyfriend over and ran off, according to the arrest report.

Kent Reed, 44, died at the scene, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.

Henderson and Las Vegas police spent the afternoon searching the area to no avail before interviewing Cain again.

At that point, Cain disclosed that she had previously been arrested and accused of running over a Child Protective Services employee who had been investigating Cain. She told police the charges had since been dropped.

Henderson police declined to provide further information on the prior arrest.

A witness who drove by shortly before the killing told investigators that she saw Cain and Reed arguing inside the car before Reed started walking off into the desert, according to the report.

Officers noted in the report that another person likely would not have fit in the back seat of the car, which had groceries covering the floor. The front seat was also pushed all the way back, investigators wrote.

When police spoke to a brother of Reed’s at the scene, he immediately suggested Cain ran Reed over, citing a volatile relationship between the two, according to the report. He said the couple had been dating for three months, and the last time another brother saw Reed, he had scratches on his face and a split chin but denied that Cain had abused him.

Cain is being held without bail and has a hearing scheduled for March 19.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.