Mom pleads guilty to murder in death of 5-year-old found in hot home
A 25-year-old Las Vegas woman has pleaded guilty but mentally ill to killing her 5-year-old daughter, whose body was found in a home without air conditioning in the middle of June 2021.
The girl, Nyomi Coleman, was found dead in a hot upstairs bedroom in the family’s home near East Pyle Avenue and South Maryland Parkway, police have said. Kemaya Taylor pleaded guilty on Wednesday to second-degree murder and child abuse, neglect or endangerment, court records show.
As part of the plea agreement, the defense and prosecutors will recommend that a judge sentence Taylor to between 10 and 25 years in prison. If a judge determines that Taylor is mentally ill when she is sentenced, she will be ordered to undergo mental health treatment while in prison, according to the agreement.
Taylor’s defense attorney did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Thursday.
The Clark County coroner’s office has said it was unable to determine Nyomi’s cause and manner of death.
On June 28, 2021, a neighbor called police to report that the home’s front door was open, and officers found Taylor outside of the house. An officer noted that Taylor “seemed to be suffering from some sort of mental illness,” according to an arrest report.
Nyomi’s body was found in a locked bedroom with her 2-year-old sister, who was alive.
“It should be noted, the temperature in the residence was extremely warm,” the report said. “Neither the heat or air conditioning were on and the temperature on the thermostat read 95 degrees Fahrenheit.”
Police also found a humidifier turned on in the room, which was “exponentially warmer” than the rest of the house, the report said.
Officers were called to the home 12 days prior for a welfare check after Taylor made a “vague suicidal threat” to an acquaintance, but police could not located her or her children. After she was arrested, Taylor told police “it was a necessary sacrifice,” and witnesses in the neighborhood reported hearing Taylor say, “I killed it,” the report said.
A sentencing hearing for Taylor is scheduled for March 2.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
