LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) — A man was captured in Los Angeles Thursday morning for the killing of a Vietnam tour operator and one of her employees at a Las Vegas Strip hotel last week.
Thirty-one-year-old Julius Trotter was arrested by FBI agents and Las Vegas police Thursday following a pursuit in the L.A. area.
A photo of Julius Trotter from a previous arrest. (Las Vegas Metropolitan PD)
On the afternoon of June 1, 38-year-old Sang Boi Nghia and a man, believed to be her coworker, were found stabbed to death on the 21st floor of the Circus Circus hotel. Investigators believe the two were stabbed during a burglary, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Police said the attack probably happened about 2 a.m. on June 1.
The two victims were visiting Las Vegas as part of a tour group. Officials said police were summoned after hotel security went to the room at the request of tour members who became concerned that Sang Nghia and the man didn’t show up for a trip to the Grand Canyon.
Their Vietnamese tour group had arrived May 31 in Las Vegas from Los Angeles, authorities said.
Nghia’s daughter, Chau Nghia, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that her mother owned a tour business in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and the male victim was a tour employee. He was not immediately named.
On Wednesday, detectives with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI Criminal Apprehension Team identified Trotter as the suspect and worked through the night to find him. It is unclear why Trotter was in L.A.
Anyone with information on the case should call Las Vegas police at 702-828-3521.