A man was
sentenced to death July 12 for shooting his pregnant estranged wife, killing
her fetus and her boyfriend.
William
Keck, 29, was convicted the previous
week of five counts, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, and
manslaughter-killing of an unborn quick child for the November 3, 2008,
shooting. It was established that on said day, he fatally shot Jonathan
Lestelle, 26, during an early morning attack at the Fountains at Villa Cordova
apartments, at 2800 S. Eastern Ave., near Sahara Avenue. According to police,
Keck used a chain saw to cut a hole in the apartment door. He then shot the
door knob off and fired multiple rounds through the hole. He next shot his
estranged wife, Angel Reyes, eight times. The fetus, which was 18 weeks old and
fathered by Lestelle, was struck by at least one bullet during the attack and
died.
The two-week
trial of the case was followed by a two-day-long penalty phase that featured
wrenching testimony from Reyes and Lestelle's family. Reyes herself testified
that prior to the shooting Keck had threatened to shoot her in the stomach and
kill her baby.
Keck's criminal defense lawyer in Las Vegas tried arguing that he suffered from a mental disorder.
The jury
deliberated about an hour and a half before handing down the death sentence.