Las Vegas police arrest man on murder charge in tunnel stabbing
Las Vegas police have identified a 25-year-old man arrested in the fatal stabbing of a woman in a drainage tunnel on Friday night.
Although the Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release Monday that police were still searching for a suspect in the case, homicide Lt. Ray Spencer confirmed that Matthew Rebich-Graham was arrested in the killing and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Sunday.
Spencer said Tuesday that Rebich-Graham was the only suspect. Court records show he has been charged with murder with a deadly weapon, and he remained in the jail Tuesday without bail.
The woman he’s accused of killing was identified Tuesday by the Clark County coroner’s office as Heather Jensen, 36.
At about 11:25 p.m. Friday, police were called to a drainage tunnel underneath an apartment complex on the 5200 block of South Edmond Street, near Decatur Boulevard and Hacienda Avenue. Police said the woman was with a group of homeless people who were “consuming alcohol and narcotics” in the tunnel, when a man in the group drew a knife and attacked her. She died at the scene from stab wounds to the face and neck, according to an arrest report from Las Vegas police.
The man fled as witnesses tried to call for help, police said.
The coroner’s office has ruled Jensen’s death a homicide due to sharp force injuries.
Officers spoke to witnesses in the tunnel who said Rebich-Graham was smoking meth across from Jensen before stabbing her in the neck with a 7.5-inch blade, according to the report.
Rebich-Graham was arrested about a half-mile away and denied stabbing Jensen but told police he saw her walk into the tunnel where she was stabbed.
Rebich-Graham has a criminal history with Las Vegas Justice Court dating to 2013, with convictions for larceny, drug possession, trespassing, destruction of property and carrying a concealed weapon. He also has a criminal history in District Court with convictions for possession of a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit robbery and malicious destruction of property.
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for July 8.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Review-Journal staff reporter Sabrina Schnur contributed to this report.
