Woman accused of killing husband while he was on live chat call

Police say a Las Vegas man was on a live chat call when he was fatally shot a week ago, and that his wife, who is accused of killing him, attempted to make his slaying look like an accident, according to her arrest report.

Emily Ikuta, 37, is charged with murder in the March 22 killing of her husband, Jourell Ng, 36, at the couple’s apartment on the 9000 block of West Katie Avenue near South Hualapai Way. Las Vegas police wrote in an arrest report for Ikuta that detectives were called by an acquaintance of Ng’s after his death, who said they were “on a live chat with (Ng) during the time of his murder.”

“They informed detectives they heard (Ng’s) dog barking in the background of the call, prior to hearing a slapping noise they believed was a gunshot,” police wrote.

Then the acquaintance heard a yelp, followed by silence, according to the report.

Police said in the report that Ikuta’s explanation of what happened to her husband did not match up with evidence that detectives had collected. Ikuta called 911 just after 11 p.m., they said, to tell dispatchers she had returned home from walking her dog when she found Ng face down, collapsed on the floor. He was having trouble breathing, she said.

A neighbor, however, said they heard Ikuta and Ng arguing just prior to the shooting.

Police also said in the report that Ikuta told dispatchers that it appeared her husband had been shot. During a subsequent interview with detectives, Ikuta suggested her husband may have accidentally shot himself while cleaning a gun. She added that when she discovered her husband on the floor, she’d picked up a gun she found near the body and locked it in a closet, which officers located.

“Below the body of (Ng) there was no large pooling of blood that was expected had (Ng) been found face down, as Ikuta stated she had found him,” police wrote.

Near the body, police described finding a computer desk, a desktop and a shelving unit with gun-cleaning materials. But none of the cleaning materials appeared to have been in use.

“The cleaning mat used was rolled up on the second shelf along with the cleaning tools, solvents and gun oil,” police wrote of the scene.

The bullet that killed Ng also apparently traveled in a downward trajectory, police wrote, which did not match up with the angle a bullet would have traveled had the gun gone off while Ng was cleaning it at his shelving unit.

Ikuta remained at the Clark County Detention Center as of Monday. Ikuta’s defense attorney declined comment Monday afternoon.

A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for April 8.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.