Posted on: October 29, 2024, 01:55h.
Last updated on: October 29, 2024, 01:56h.
A jury in Las Vegas found Julius Trotter guilty on Tuesday of murdering two Vietnamese tour leaders in a Circus Circus hotel room six years ago. He could face the death penalty.
Sang Boi Nghia and Khuong Ba Le Nguyen were found stabbed to death in their hotel room at the north Las Vegas Strip hotel on June 1, 2018. After being identified as a suspect from the casino’s security video, Trotter was arrested days later in Chino, Calif. following a police chase.
Trotter was spotted in a hotel elevator at around 4am, close to when the Vietnamese nationals were killed. Around 45 minutes later, he was seen on the video returning to his own hotel room at Circus Circus with his shirt turned inside out. He quickly checked out of the room even though he had booked an additional night.
Door Pusher
Prosecutors believe the suspect had been “door pushing,” which refers to the practice where criminals roam hotel corridors checking for unlocked doors. The latch plate on the door to Nghia and Nguyen’s room was broken, meaning it wouldn’t close properly.
The incident raised questions about security in Las Vegas hotels. While casino floors are the most strictly surveilled places on earth, less scrutiny is paid to hotel corridors.
As Casino.org noted at the time, it’s easier to be a door-pusher than a card-counter in Las Vegas. Police said after Trotter’s arrest that door-pushers were “not uncommon” in the city.
After Trotter left Circus Circus, he was seen on surveillance footage depositing cash at an ATM before checking in at the Palms to gamble.
When police arrested him, they found items belonging to the victims in his car and home, including a backpack, a purse, and a watch.
Sneaker Mystery
They also found traces of Nghia and Nguyen’s blood on a pair of sneakers that also contained Trotter’s DNA. They were the same type of shoes that the suspect was seen wearing on surveillance video on the night of the crime.
Trotter told the jury last week that he was taking the elevator to the victim’s hotel tower because he had arranged to visit a sex worker there.
He testified he received the victims’ stolen items from a friend who fenced stolen goods. This individual also gave him the bloodied shoes because Trotter was known to buy and sell sneakers, the defendant claimed.
But in a final twist for the jury, the sneakers were size 11 and a half. Trotter wears size 13.
Jurors will now decide whether the 37-year-old should be executed for the crime.
