Coroner rules foster father’s death a suicide
November 4, 2014 - 9:01 am
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The Oasis Vinings apartment complex at 6100 Carmen Blvd. is seen in Las Vegas on Monday, Oct. 13. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
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Michell Momox-Caselis, 16 months, who was killed in an apparent murder-suicide involving her foster father Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, is shown in this undated family photo made available to the Las Vegas Review-Journal Friday, Oct. 17, 2014. Momox-Caselis was found dead in her apartment at Oasis Vinings apartment complex at 6100 Carmen Blvd., near North Jones Boulevard and Vegas Drive, shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, according to Las Vegas police. (Courtesy)
The Clark County coroner’s office on Tuesday released the cause of death of the man who police said killed his 16-month-old foster daughter.
Joaquin Juarez-Paez, 37, committed suicide through a hydrocodone intoxication, the coroner said. Hydrocodone is a narcotic found in pain medication.
Police responded to the Oasis apartment complex at 6100 Carmen Blvd., near North Jones Boulevard and Vegas Drive, early Oct. 12. Juarez-Paez’s wife found him unresponsive in a vehicle, Las Vegas police said.
When officers told Juarez-Paez’s wife to get his car keys, she found 16-month-old Michell Momox-Caselis dead in her crib, police said.
The deaths were classified as a murder-suicide by police.
The couple had recently become Michell’s foster parents. A 6-month-old baby also under their foster care was removed from the home, according to the Clark County Department of Family Services.
Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites