Suspect in Murder of Woman Arrested

The murderer of Marissa Shalesa Gonzales has been arrested by Las Vegas police. Shalesa was found dead in an apartment in late May 2015.  It appeared that she had been set on fire after being killed. The murder suspect admitted that Shalesa tried to charge him for sex. Because of this he killed her, tried to dismember her body, and later tried to set the body on fire.

Las Vegas police found her body in the bathtub under a blanket and rug. The murder occurred near the 4000 block of South Arville Street. Following an autopsy, the body was identified as that of 25-year old Shalesa. So far it is not know where she resided and the actual cause of death has also not been determined. Law enforcement only became aware of the murder when an identified male called the police a few days ago to report that he had found the body of a dead female in his bathtub. The male also told the police that he shared the apartment with his nephew, later identified as Nathaniel Martinez.

Nathaniel told detectives that he had met Shalesa on the Las Vegas strip and they both returned to his apartment that he was sharing with his uncle. He was adamant the sex was consensual but after the sex episode, the female demanded payment. When he refused to pay, she went to the kitchen counter and grabbed a knife. He went on to say that Shalesa demanded to see his wallet but it was empty. When he asked her to leave, she quickly locked the dead bolt on the apartment door. The moment she tried to place the chain on the door, Nathaniel placed her in a chokehold and she became unresponsive. He stated that he was going to put her outside the apartment but was not able to carry her.

According to police reports, Gonzalez’s arm was partially severed and she also had cuts on her lower back and the back of her left leg. In addition, there were burns around her head and neck area.

The uncle did see his nephew and the female on the floor of the living room and told Nathaniel that the female had to leave. Later the uncle fell asleep and left for his 2^nd job. When he returned back from work he did smell smoke but Nathaniel told his uncle that he had left something on the stove. The uncle thought that his nephew had been smoking cannabis. He later checked the bathroom where he found the body of the female and immediately called police. Nathaniel has been arrested and jailed on charge of murder.