Prosecutors weigh pursuing death penalty in toddler’s killing

Prosecutors in Las Vegas will soon decide whether to pursue the death penalty against the man accused of killing toddler Amari Nicholson.

Terrell Rhodes, 27, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Clark County District Court. He was indicted by a grand jury Friday.

Amari vanished May 5 from the Emerald Suites apartment complex where he lived with Rhodes and his mother, Tayler Nicholson.

Rhodes confessed to killing his girlfriend’s missing 2-year-old after the child had wet himself, according to his police report.

Rhodes initially told police that Amari had been kidnapped. The boy’s disappearance sparked a weeklong community-wide search before his body was found in a nearby apartment complex.

After confessing, Rhodes was placed in an interview room at the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters on Martin Luther King Boulevard, where he lunged at a detective and grabbed her gun, police said.

After being disarmed, Rhodes said, “I wanna die,” and “kill me,” according to the police report.

Rhodes is charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon and four counts of resisting a police officer with the use of a firearm.

He remains at the Clark County Detention Center, where he will remain held without bail.

He is set to appear back in court June 11.

Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.