A Nevada jury has decided that a man will serve life in state prison with no chance of parole for breaking into a room at a Las Vegas Strip hotel-casino and killing two Vietnamese tour leaders in 2018. The defendant, 37-year-old Julius Damiano Deangilo Trotter, was spared a death sentence by the jury that found him guilty of murder, burglary, and robbery in the stabbings of Sang Boi Nghia and Khoung Ba Le Nguyen at the Circus Circus hotel.
Defense attorney Lisa Rasmussen stated that Trotter and his legal team appreciated the jury's decision but mentioned that Trotter plans to appeal his conviction and sentence as part of the criminal justice system. The jury, after hearing testimony from Trotter, his relatives, and the family members of the victims, chose to remove the death penalty as an option and sentenced Trotter to life in prison.
Trotter expressed his desire to be a positive influence on his family and loved ones during his testimony. Nghia, 38, a mother of three, operated a tour business with her husband in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, while Nguyen, 30, was one of her employees. Their bodies were discovered after they failed to show up for a scheduled tour group trip.
Police investigations revealed that the room lock did not secure properly, allowing Trotter to gain access to the room. Trotter was apprehended a week after the killings in Chino, California, along with his girlfriend, Itaska Dean, following a police chase. Dean pleaded guilty to evading arrest but was not charged in connection with the murders.
Despite Trotter's denial of the killings, police and prosecutors found items belonging to Nghia and Nguyen in his possession, including a purse, wallets, a cellphone, jewelry, and Vietnamese currency. Trotter, who had a prior criminal record, was serving probation at the time of the incident after a felony conviction for resisting a police officer with a weapon.
The sentencing for Trotter is scheduled for January 15, and he remains in custody in Las Vegas. The last execution in a Nevada prison took place in April 2006. Daryl Mack was put to death for a 1988 rape and murder in Reno.
