‘Truly a great couple’: Couple killed at Las Vegas Smith’s mourned by crowd

When Vincent Lopez walked to the front of the Smith’s Food and Drug near the intersection of Maryland Parkway and Silverado Ranch Road on Monday, he never expected so many people to be watching him.

Roughly 200 people watched as Lopez took a microphone and recalled a pandemic-era conversation he had with one of that Smith’s location’s most beloved employees, Amanda Frias Rosas, who along with her husband Victor Frias Rosas was shot and killed inside the store last week. The crowd gathered that evening to host a vigil in memory of the slain couple.

Lopez, who had known Amanda since working with her at Pep Boys beginning in 2009, said Amanda had called him over one day and explained that she wanted him and his partner to be the godparents to her two children.

Now that Amanda and her husband are gone, and the father of Amanda’s two children are in jail, Lopez said, he’s blessed to have had such a conversation.

“You never know who the ones are who’re going to change your life,” Lopez said after his remarks. “Mandy was one of the ones that, for the rest of my life, I’ll always owe it to her.”

Others remembered Amanda as an eccentric employee who worked in the floral department. Marvis Anthony Walton Jr., a retired deputy coroner, said death has hardly ever emotionally moved him. But that changed when his best friend Victor, whom he affectionately called ‘Vic’ died last week.

“Vic always had a smile,” Walton said, at times fighting through tears. “Even when I’d cry, he’d make me smile. I’m hurt because that was my best friend.”

Suspect in court

Also on Monday, the man accused of killing Amanda and Victor Frias Rosas, Alejandro Estrada, pleaded not guilty in Las Vegas Justice Court to several charges including first-degree murder, home invasion and burglary while in possession of a firearm or deadly weapon. Estrada, 43, was ordered to be held without bail.

Estrada remains in custody at the Clark County Detention Center. Prosecutors have indicated Estrada may face the death penalty.

Authorities said Estrada entered the Smith’s store where Monday’s vigil took place and fatally shot Amanda and Victor Frias Rosas, who worked at the grocery store and married in 2025. After Estrada was arrested, he was found with a .45-caliber handgun and a 9 mm semiautomatic carbine, as well as loaded magazines for both guns, according to police.

Court records show Estrada was in a child support dispute with Amanda Frias Rosas. Police said after Estrada’s arrest he was concerned about going to jail over unpaid child support.

Court records show that the slayings happened on the 12th birthday of one of the children, while the other turns 10 on Thursday. Police said the children were not at the grocery store during the shooting.

Victor Frias Rosas also had two sons from a previous marriage.

‘She made me laugh all the time’

Some attendees at Monday night’s vigil wore shirts with Amanda and Victor Frias Rosas’ picture on them, while others volunteered to hand out water, snacks and plastic light-up candles to others who came to pay their respects.

Amanda’s mother, Anna Winn, of Kingman, Arizona, spoke briefly and was flanked by family and loved ones while at the front of the store. She and other speakers thanked attendees for coming.

“I just love each end every one of you,” Winn said.

One of Amanda’s daughters, whom Winn declined to identify, said Amanda and Victor were “truly a great couple,” and described her mother as someone full of jokes, and Victor as a master at the grill.

“She was a weirdo, but that’s OK,” the girl said of her mother. “She made me laugh all the time.”

Smith’s still closed

The parking lot area in front of the Smith’s was segmented off with lines of shopping carts to shield attendees from traffic inside the plaza. Throughout the vigil, many surrounding businesses remained open.

A Smith’s spokesperson said in an email Monday that a timetable for reopening the store was not immediately available.

“We’d like the family and associates to be able to focus on the vigil tonight and then we will send you information on the store’s reopening,” spokesperson Tina Murray said in an email.

After attendees took turns recalling their favorite memories of Amanda and Victor, Victor’s son Anthony Frias joined the crowd and led a prayer. During remarks earlier, he said he was thankful for the turnout.

“I look around, and I see everybody gathered and I’m proud and I’m honored to see that each and every one of us can get together in a dark time and hold each other up,” Anthony said.