‘Not a silent crime’: Deadly month of domestic violence highlights danger in Clark County

In March, two women were killed by their current or former partners, according to Las Vegas police.

They said another was injured when the father of her children rammed a car into her workplace and stabbed her.

Victim advocates say the latest string of domestic violence attacks highlights a troubling pattern in the state, which they describe as among the nation’s most dangerous for women with abusive partners.

During an educational panel hosted by SafeNest on March 26, CEO Liz Ortenburger cited FBI statistics from 2025.

Ortenburger said Nevada ranked first in the nation for all offenses committed by an intimate partner or family member. She added that, for decades, the state has also consistently been among the top ten for the most domestic-violence-related homicides.

Panel speaker Henderson Police Chief Reggie Rader said the problem has persisted since he was an early officer with the Metropolitan Police Department nearly 30 years ago.

“Domestic violence still remains very taboo in our society, and I think people tend to rationalize it away,” Rader said. “We have to, as a whole, recognize that sometimes people are just trapped and don’t know what else is out there.”

Recent slayings

Desirae Tovereda called 911 on March 17, reporting that her ex-boyfriend, who she said was under the influence of drugs, had pointed a gun at her after coming to her apartment to pick up his belongings, according to police.

As she described the situation to a Metro dispatcher, she began to scream hysterically during what Metro said sounded like a physical struggle. Then gunshots were heard on the line, police said.

When officers arrived at the scene, a residence near Durango Drive and Blue Diamond Road, they said they found Tovereda unresponsive, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

The ex-boyfriend, Jorge Garcia, with whom Tovereda had three children, was identified as a suspect and later arrested. Police said Garcia had driven to Tovereda’s apartment four times, hours passing in between each visit, on the day of the shooting.

GoFundMe organizer Carmela Trias said Tovereda was a devoted mother and a faithful Christian.

“She was taken from us too soon due to domestic violence, leaving behind three beautiful children, a loving family, and countless friends who cherished her,” Trias said in the fundraiser description.

Days after Toveredea was killed, Yury Gutierez was fatally shot by her boyfriend, Christopher Behar, who then shot himself, according to Metro.

Police found them in the master bedroom of Gutierez’s home. Guiterez, who police said was also a mother, was pronounced dead on the scene.

Behar survived, and, like Garcia, has been charged with open murder.

Violated temporary restraining order, police say

On March 23, police said that Shawn Handley drove a car into Dollar Tree before repeatedly stabbing the manager, who is his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his children.

According to Handley’s arrest report, the woman saw Handley at a nearby business when she arrived at work. She then told her son that Handley, who she said had threatened to beat her days earlier, had shown up at her workplace, police said.

The report said that the son arrived, and he shot at his father just before the crash.

Handley admitted to sending his ex-girlfriend threatening messages, including those telling her he would drive his car into her workplace, according to his arrest report.

“Shawn stated he didn’t mean anything by the texts, and Shawn and (ex-girlfriend) would go back and forth like a game,” police said in the report. “When asked why he told her he would ram the car into the business, he stated he was just messing with her.”

While in custody, Handley made more than a dozen jail calls to three phone numbers, in which he told people to ask his ex-girlfriend to drop criminal charges against him, according to police.

The calls violated the temporary restraining order previously served to Handley while in custody at Clark County Detention Center, according to police. In addition to attempted murder and assault charges, Handley also faces one count of preventing or dissuading a person from testifying and another of violating a no-contact order.

Abusive relationships

During the panel discussion in late March, Rader said that domestic violence affects the entire community.

“It’s not a silent crime,” Rader said.

The chief then recalled what he said was likely the third domestic-violence-related call he had ever been on. It was the late 1990s.

Because digital cameras were not used by the department then, Rader said he documented her injuries using a Polaroid picture.

In his head, he said, he subconsciously began to judge the victim for staying with a partner who had battered her.

He said he took an extra one to put on her fridge as a reminder of what had happened to her.

“What’s difficult for law enforcement is when we want to help, and we really don’t know what we can do,” Rader said. “But we should never assume why somebody stays in an abusive relationship.”

Rader, who also referenced a February incident where officers fatally shot a man who was allegedly chasing his ex-girlfriend with a knife, said that, since the start of his tenure in Henderson, quarterly domestic violence training has been mandatory for all officers.

The trainings, conducted by the department’s victim advocate team, include victim speakers who teach officers about the complexities of various abusive relationships, Rader added.

The victim advocate team also provides in-the-field guidance to officers and works closely with other organizations in the community to connect those suffering abuse to resources.

A Henderson spokesperson said that in 2025, domestic violence-related calls decreased by more than 10 percent compared to 2024.

Domestic violence drives homicides

Sheriff Kevin McMahill said domestic violence remains the leading driver of homicides in his jurisdiction.

So far this year, at least seven of the 24 killings investigated by Metro have stemmed from disputes in domestic relationships. Roughly 30 percent of the department’s total homicide cases are domestic-violence related, statistics suggest.

Metro has also had multiple police shootings that started as domestic violence calls. On Jan. 6, a woman contacted police, reporting that she had been strangled by a domestic partner.

Almost a month later, on Feb. 3, another woman called 911, reporting that the father of her child, Quinton Baker, had assaulted her friend, police said.

During the call, the woman, Raneka Pate, said that Baker had also threatened to kill her and their 3-year-old son, Kentre.

When officers arrived, police said, Baker exited holding a gun and the child. Police shot at Baker, who simultaneously shot Kentre, Metro has said.

In North Las Vegas, police arrested 39-year-old Roderick Duke after he allegedly abducted his 10-month-old daughter, prompting an Amber Alert. The girl was found unharmed, but police said that, right before the incident, he had beaten the girl’s mother and threatened to kill the girl.

Penalties for domestic violence offenses

Defense attorney Peter Christiansen, who has decades of experience handling domestic violence cases across the Las Vegas Valley, said that domestic violence is a cumulative offense, and even the verbal threat of violence is reason to get proactive.

“Folks get threatened first, and then they get punched or pushed or strangled,” Christiansen said.

When asked about protections for victims, Christiansen mentioned the “cool off period,” or the 12 hours during which at least one of the two parties involved in a domestic dispute reported to police must spend in jail. He said that this step is crucial.

“If you can’t physically get a hold of somebody, you can’t hurt them, and they can’t hurt you,” Christiansen said. “So, somebody’s got to go sit at the detention center, but the alternative is to tell one to go to their parents’ house, which is accessible by the other.”

Christiansen also highlighted the importance of a restraining order, but he said victims must also “change their circumstances,” such as by changing the locks on their home.

He added, “Anytime somebody’s putting their hands on another, that’s as bad as it gets. Don’t wait for a second time. There’s not an acceptable number of times before you should call the police.”

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.