By A Nevada jury decided Thursday that a man should serve life in state prison with no chance of parole for breaking into a room at a Las Vegas Strip hotel-casino and killing two Vietnamese tour leaders in 2018.
Julius Damiano Deangilo Trotter, 37, was spared a death sentence by the same state court jury that found him guilty on Tuesday of murder, burglary and robbery in the stabbings of Sang Boi Nghia and Khoung Ba Le Nguyen at the Circus Circus hotel.
Defense attorney Lisa Rasmussen said Trotter and his legal team appreciated the jury’s decision, but that Trotter will appeal his conviction and sentence “as a normal part of the criminal justice system.” Rasmussen acknowledged Trotter had a prior criminal record, but said he also had the support of a loving family.
Nghia, 38, was a mother of three who operated a tour business in Vietnam. Nguyen, 30, was one of her employees. Police said Trotter was found with items belonging to the victims, including a purse, wallets, a cellphone, jewelry and Vietnamese cash.
The jurors heard testimony from Trotter, his relatives and the victims’ family members before issuing their decision to spare Trotter the death penalty. The last person put to death in Nevada prison was in 2006.
