UNLV student’s killer gets life sentence; family shares grief in court

Moments before the man who raped and killed her sister was sentenced to life in prison Thursday, Rachel Davis recalled the way the siblings shared everything with each other, including meals at restaurants.

“When Paula was murdered, I lost the other half of myself,” Davis told the courtroom.

Giovanni Ruiz shot and raped Paula Davis, a 19-year-old student at UNLV, on Sept. 6, 2019, according to police. Davis had been trying to break up with Ruiz for days, and sent a final breakup text the morning of the incident, according to her family.

After Paula Davis didn’t make it to a 1 p.m. class at UNLV that day, her parents reported her missing. Two hours later, her father, Sean Davis, tracked her phone to a North Las Vegas park and found her dead in the family’s van.

“When I found Paula’s lifeless, naked body in a van, it was as if someone tore me in half,” Sean Davis told the court through tears.

Ruiz, 26, pleaded guilty on June 4 to first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and sexual assault with a deadly weapon. As part of the deal, he agreed to a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 42 years. If he is ever released on parole, Ruiz will face a lifetime of supervision and will be required to register as a sex offender.

‘Never be the same again’

At Ruiz’s sentencing hearing Thursday morning, Paula Davis’ grandparents, parents and sister described her as a “child of God,” who brought joy and kindness into their lives. Davis volunteered at Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada and studied economics and entrepreneurship at UNLV. She wanted to be an FBI agent after graduation, her father told the courtroom.

As the family spoke, prosecutor Michael Shwartzer held a photograph of Paula Davis, which her father said was taken at a Harry Potter festival in Oregon just one month before her death.

“The bullets that took her life also went through our hearts, and our hearts will never be the same again,” her grandfather, Michael Trzebiatowski, told the courtroom.

He gave Judge Tierra Jones copies of his granddaughter’s artwork. She often made personalized artwork for family members, Trzebiatowski said.

Davis’ grandmother, Barbara Trzebiatowski, remembered her love for singing and dancing, and said she often breaks down crying when she hears the song, “You Are Mine.” The family has a video of Paula Davis singing at age 4. It was played at her funeral.

“I pray that she is singing and dancing with the angels,” her grandmother said.

Paula Davis’ mother, Kara Davis, described her daughter as the kindest person she had ever met. She described what she said was an unusual urge she had felt to wear her daughter’s clothes after her death.

Sean Davis said he still deals with the trauma.

“The sound of a particular police siren or looking into a car window can still take my breath away and send me back instantly to that night,” he told the courtroom.

“If I check the location of a family member and they’re not exactly where I thought they would be, I have to remind myself to stay calm and to keep the panic down,” he continued. “When my younger daughter tells me about her new boyfriend, I have to remind myself to be trusting and reasonable.”

‘I’m so sorry’

As he faced the judge with his head down, a surgical mask over his face, Ruiz said, “Rhere are no words that can express my remorse.”

While there is no excuse for what he did, he said, his diagnosis of severe autism and paranoid personality disorder affected his behavior.

Referring to Paula Davis, Ruiz told the courtroom that he hopes he can “somehow earn the right to have her from heaven, at the very least, consider the words I repeat to her many times every day: I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Ruiz kept his head down and body turned away from the family throughout the hearing, but appeared to tremble and cry several times as they spoke. As he walked out of the courtroom, his eyes appeared shut and he turned his head away from the Davis family.

Ruiz’s attorney, Gabe Grasso, called the case “a tragic situation all around.”

Grasso highlighted Ruiz’s intelligence, saying it was a shame that it would go to waste. He noted that Ruiz had written his statement himself the night before and memorized it for his statement in court. He added that during Ruiz’s time in jail, Grasso sent him Japanese books and Ruiz learned Japanese.

Paula Davis’ parents both asked the judge to do her part in keeping Ruiz from harming anyone else. Sean Davis, citing his faith, added that he was glad Ruiz was no longer facing the death penalty.

The judge thanked the family for getting the opportunity to know Paula Davis a little bit.

“I certainly hope that today provides you some closure. But I wish today would be the end of this tragedy, the end of your suffering, but unfortunately, it is not. I’m very very impressed at how you have banded together to attempt to get through this charged situation and the insight you brought today,” she said.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com.