NLV parents plead guilty in disappearance, death of 3-year-old

Two parents have pleaded guilty to felony charges in the death of their 3-year-old daughter who disappeared from North Las Vegas in 2019.

The body of toddler Zaela Walker has not been found.

Her father, Ricky Beasley, 34, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in District Court on April 2, according to court records. Zaela’s mother, Lakeia Walker, pleaded guilty to accessory to commit murder on the same day, according to the records.

Zaela was first reported missing in August 2018 after officers were called to a home on the 4600 block of Mission Cantina Avenue, near North 5th Street and East Lone Mountain Road.

Beasley’s mother told North Las Vegas police that a loud thud woke her up late on Aug. 21, and she ran into the hallway, where she found Beasley carrying Zaela, who was crying, according to court transcripts and police reports.

It was the last time anyone other than Beasley and his girlfriend saw Zaela alive.

Phone records revealed that Beasley had completed a series of Google searches that day, including “how to stop seizures in children,” the transcripts state.

Prosecutors said previously that Beasley “took the child” from Walker for seven days and essentially held the girl for ransom.

Authorities said they also listened to jail phone calls in which Lakeia Walker spoke with Beasley.

“They’re talking, and Lakeia mentions, she says, ‘You always say no body, no crime,’ and then they continue to talk,” North Las Vegas police Detective Paul Freeman told a grand jury that indicted Lakeia Walker in 2019.

Both Beasley and Walker are scheduled to be sentenced on July 23. Beasley faces up to life in prison. He remained in custody at the Clark County Detention Center as of Monday. Walker, it appears, is out of custody. She faces up to five years in prison.

Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com.