Saturday, July 21, 2012

Death Sentence for 2008 Killing of Man, Fetus in Las Vegas


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.