Man charged in 2003 cold-case homicide appears in court
A 47-year-old man facing a murder charge in a 2003 Henderson killing appeared in court Thursday morning.
Ricky Lee Trader was extradited from Reno, where he was living, to the Henderson Detention Center on Tuesday after new DNA testing linked him to the killing of 28-year-old Theresa Romano, whose body was discovered on Sept. 4, 2003.
Appearing in front of Judge Douglas Hedger on Wednesday morning, Trader waived the reading of his criminal complaint.
In the hearing, the public defender’s office was appointed to represent Trader. An attorney present said that while they reserve the right to file for bail, they will be submitting a written motion.
Police said that Romano’s body was discovered at a residence on the 200 block of Gold Street. She died from multiple stab wounds to the neck, police said.
Court records show that in 2006, Trader was ordered to serve life in prison with the possibility of parole for killing Robert Wittwer that same month.
Trader was paroled in September 2021, according to Nevada Department of Corrections records.
He is due back in court on Aug. 6.
Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estelleatkinsonreports on Instagram and @estellelilym on X.