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Thread: Veronica Johnvae Houck and Jamar Kenty Webb Sentenced in 2015 NV Murder of 71-Year-Old Young Suk Sanchez

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    Veronica Johnvae Houck and Jamar Kenty Webb Sentenced in 2015 NV Murder of 71-Year-Old Young Suk Sanchez


    Veronica Johnvae Houck and Jamar Kenty Webb


    Woman, boyfriend arrested after body parts found in duffel bag

    By Ken Ritter
    Associated Press

    A man and woman arrested in Louisiana are accused of killing a 71-year-old Las Vegas woman, stuffing her corpse into a duffel bag and hiding it in an underground utility vault while they used her credit cards to fund an effort to flee, authorities said Tuesday.

    Veronica Johnvae Houck, 23, and Jamar Kenty Webb, 33, were being at the Webster Parish Jail following their arrests last week in Minden, Louisiana, a jail official and Las Vegas police said.

    Both await transfer in custody to Nevada to face charges.

    "They befriended the victim and ended up conspiring to murder her, possibly for financial gain," Las Vegas police Lt. Dan McGrath said.

    Webb and Houck were dating, and Houck was acquainted with Young Suk Sanchez, police said.

    Sanchez's decomposed body was found Sept. 22 by a utility worker checking a broken lock on the cover of a water district valve locker near a complex of extended-stay suites southeast of downtown.

    Sanchez, Webb and Houck lived nearby, police said.

    A human hand was seen in the duffel bag before homicide detectives were summoned to the site off Nellis Boulevard between Twain Avenue and Flamingo Road, officials said.

    It appeared that Sanchez was strangled, and that her body remained hidden for nearly a month before it was found, McGrath said.

    Houck faces murder, robbery, kidnapping and conspiracy charges. Webb faces charges of conspiracy, burglary, conspiracy, and possession and fraudulent use of a credit card.

    http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/oct...arts-found-in/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Arrest Report Describes Woman Found in Duffel Bag Slaying

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — A woman arrested in Louisiana told Las Vegas police she and her boyfriend duct-taped and suffocated a 71-year-old Las Vegas neighbor with a plastic bag before stuffing her corpse in a duffel bag to hide it in an underground utility vault, according to court documents.

    Veronica Johnvae Houck, 23, told homicide detectives that as she and Jamar Kenty Webb, 33, were trying to move Young Suk Sanchez's body, Webb said that if he went to prison, she would too, according to an arrest report obtained Friday.

    Houck told police that she didn't know where Webb hid the corpse.

    Houck and Webb were arrested Oct. 7 in Minden, Louisiana, and were being held at the Webster Parish Jail pending their transfer in custody to Nevada. Houck faces murder, robbery, kidnapping and conspiracy charges. Webb faces burglary, conspiracy, and possession and fraudulent use of a credit card charges.

    Police said robbery was the apparent motive for the slaying, and investigators traced the couple's Greyhound bus trip halfway across the country with charges to Sanchez's credit card.

    The couple was captured on security video when one attempted purchase was declined at a gas station in Van Horn, Texas, according to the police report. The first purchase, at a Las Vegas convenience store on Aug. 20, totaled $8.47 for two beers and a $5 cash return.

    Houck told detectives that she and Webb lived at the same extended-stay apartment complex southeast of downtown Las Vegas where Houck said they killed Sanchez during an argument about money on Aug. 18.

    Sanchez's decomposed body was found more than a month later, on Sept. 22, by a utility worker checking a broken lock on the cover of a water district valve locker off Nellis Boulevard between Twain Avenue and Flamingo Road.

    Houck told police that Sanchez died after she and Webb duct-taped the elderly woman's feet, hands and mouth and put a trash bag over her head, set a cellphone timer and returned about 30 minutes later.

    Houck admitted to police she told apartment managers that day that Sanchez had moved to Arizona. A maintenance worker told police that among Sanchez's possessions, he found her eyeglasses on the carpet of the apartment.

    https://www.ksl.com/?nid=157&sid=369...el-bag-slaying
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Related:

    Inside the minds of killer couples

    By Zach Beaird
    The Shreveport Times

    A person will go to great lengths for the one they love, but this doting can turn volatile when the one they love has an appetite for violence.

    Though rare, love's bond can be tainted by sinister and even deadly acts as bizarre as they are macabre.

    Shreveport's own notorious killer couple, Eric Mickelson and Beverly Susan Arthur, are a prime example.

    Mickelson was sentenced to life without parole last week by a Caddo Parish jury for a gruesome 2007 killing. Arthur is in prison for the same crime.

    Another example is Phillip and Violet Walter of Abilene, Texas. The Walters tortured and killed an off-duty police officer in his home following a fake Craigslist meetup. And, most recently, Jamar Webb and Veronica Houck, of Cullen, made headlines in a strange murder case out of Las Vegas where a woman was suffocated, stuffed into a suitcase and dropped in a water meter vault.

    As with any criminal act, couples who kill do so for many different reasons. Sometimes a couple kills over drugs, other times for money and some just for the shared thrill.

    Regardless of motive, these couple have something in common.

    "After being entrenched together in something so serious that it escalates to the point of killing, it binds a couple closer together and creates this weird intimacy between them," said Judy Ho, clinical and forensic psychologist and professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. "As sick as it is, it’s a very serious factor in a lot of these killings."

    In addition to the binding strength of love, the couple also is bound by the shared knowledge of the murder in which both played a role. Getting away with murder means keeping a secret, and sharing that secret with anyone requires an immense level of trust.

    Steve Albrecht, retired police officer and security expert in San Diego, California, said this is why murderers usually act alone.

    "Crimes, in terms of working in pairs, is pretty rare other than robbery," Albrecht said. "It’s always more risky to work in pairs because one of the two is likely to slip and tell someone they’re close to, or someone will make the connection to one of them and the victim."

    For Webb, the woes of working in pairs came when his girlfriend, Houck, was arrested by Springhill police for parole violations since she was on probation when the couple left Louisiana.

    When bound by love, Albrecht said it's difficult to not be bound by murder, too.

    He said these unusual circumstances can present challenges to investigators. Understanding how these couples operate requires understanding the psychological depth of not just what makes them kill, but also where they come from before meeting, what brings them together, the roles each partner assumes and the shared goal they hope to achieve by murder.

    In a classic case of boy meets girl, most killer couples start off like any other. Harvard Medical School professor and staff forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland said one partner is usually responsible for the violent turn, but, willingly or reluctantly, the other often follows.

    "One person in the couple is typically the instigator or mastermind," Ramsland said. "This is the person who comes up with criminal intent then coerces their partner to go along with them."

    In the killing of 86-year-old Charles Martin, Mickelson was the mastermind. Police said it was Arthur's idea to break into the home to steal money for drugs, but it was Mickelson who strangled, dismembered and desecrated the remains of the World War II veteran.

    In the beginning, Ramsland said, it may be difficult for the mastermind to convince their partner to participate, but once murder has been committed, a couple can begin to transcend into a state where both partners are truly and maliciously acting in criminal scenarios.

    Albrecht said it's easy to determine who the "mastermind" is by looking at their pasts.

    "A good prediction of future violence is past violence," he said.

    Ricky McWilliamson, North Webster Lower School principal, said he's seen irrefutable evidence of this himself. When Webb attended Springhill Junior/Senior High School, McWilliam's was his teacher. He had the young man in his class all day as a special education student who couldn't be placed under anyone else's supervision.

    Two years after Webb left his class, the 15-year-old robbed and killed the owner of a local grocery store. At age 31, he was released. By 33, he'd taken part in another murder.

    "When I look back at some of his behavior I see he was truly a mean guy," McWilliamson said. "I just remember thinking when I heard he can get out at age 31 that when that happened he would just go out and do it again."

    Ho said men most often fill the leader role, with their female counterparts following along out of fear, admiration or to fulfill their own needs.

    But it was Houck, not Webb, who was responsible for the killing of 71-year-old Young Suk Sanchez in Las Vegas.

    "A female carrying out these murders is definitely against social norms and stereotypes," Ho said. "It’s not outside the realm of possibilities, but it’s definitely rarer. But when you do see a female carry out the super-aggressive parts of a murder, it actually points more towards the fact that there may be some sort of disruption in their upbringing."

    Albrecht agreed, saying a past of abuse can leave a person with a strong need to keep a destructive or violent partner in their life.

    "I worked six years as a domestic violence agent in San Diego," Albrecht said. "In my experience, the abusers always find the abused and vice versa. They're drawn to each other."

    But not all of these couples are cast from the same mold. Albrecht said the rhyme and reason for each couple's murder is different — money, drugs, gambling addiction, protection and revenge were some of the motives he mentioned. For Mickelson and Arthur, it was a means to buy cocaine. For Webb and Houck, it also was money.

    Ho said there are a few killer couples, though, that murder purely for the satisfaction. Another word for these couples, she said, is psychopaths. When the Walters kidnapped, tortured and killed an off-duty Abilene police officer, they fell into this category.

    "Two psychopaths can be very attracted to each other because they finally felt like they’ve met somebody who has the same ideas as they do and would be willing to carry them out with them," Ho said.

    Ramsland said killer couples who err on the psychotic side stay together because their partner helps and encourages them in their criminal behavior while also providing a false sense of justification. For the Walters, it was their alleged dislike of law enforcement they used to justified their actions.

    "There’s a real narcissistic edge to these couples. They often feed off each other and up the ante with the crimes they’re committing, causing real destruction to other people," Ramsland said. "It creates an almost delusion where the couple are colluding with each other and often reassuring the other what they’re doing is justifiable and acceptable, even within the norms of society."

    Jamar Webb and Veronica Houck

    Webb, 33, and Houck, 23, were arrested in Cullen, Louisiana for killing 71-year-old Young Suk Sanchez in Las Vegas in early September of this year. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police found Sanchez's body on Sept. 22 in a suitcase dropped in a water meter vault. Police say Houck strangled the woman, who the couple had befriended, and Webb took her identification and credit card. Houck was later arrested for violating parole on a prior charge by Springhill police. LVMPD officers asked she be held when they saw her name come up as a captured fugitive. LVMPD officers, with the help of Webster Parish Sheriff's office deputies, arrested Webb. Houck faces charges of first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Webb faces charges of burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, possession of a credit card without the owner's consent and two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card.

    Eric Mickelson and Beverly Suzanne Arthur


    In 2011, Mickelson, 46, and Arthur, 47, were convicted for the 2007 murder of 87-year-old Charles Martin. Detectives say Arthur spearheaded the plan to break into Martin's home and rob him in order to buy cocaine. Mickelson used a crowbar to open an outside window and, once inside the home, kicked in Martin's locked bedroom door, strangled him, dismembered his body and scattered the remains throughout Caddo Parish. Arthur cleaned the home and covered most evidence the couple left. This murder allowed investigators to identify Mickelson as the 1996 killer of Kristi O'Pry. Mickelson was charged with capital first-degree murder, which was changed to life in prison without parole in a retrial ending last week. Arthur was convicted of second-degree murder and will spend the rest of her days in prison.

    Phillip and Violet Walter

    Phillip Walter, 29, and his wife Violet, 30, were arrested in early September this year by Texas Rangers in Abilene, Texas for the killing of off-duty police officer Don Allen, 27. The couple reportedly responded to a Craigslist ad in which the couple agreed to buy some items from Allen. Police say the couple insisted Allen use an alias when meeting them. Upon meeting, the Walter's kidnapped Allen, took him to his home, tortured him and killed him. Police are still investigating the motive behind this killing, but they know the act was premeditated. They also had to dispel rumors of the couple using anti-police rhetoric circulating throughout social media.

    http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story...ples/75201224/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Couple from Louisiana indicted in Vegas duffel bag slaying

    By Ken Ritter
    Associated Press

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Louisiana ex-convict and his girlfriend have been indicted in Las Vegas on murder charges that could get them the death penalty in the killing of a 71-year-old woman whose body was found in a duffel bag in an underground utility vault.

    A nine-count indictment filed Thursday in Clark County District Court also charges Jamar Kenty Webb and Veronica Johnvae Houck with conspiracy, kidnapping, robbery and possession and use of stolen credit cards in the death of Young Suk Sanchez.

    Prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo said Friday that a decision on whether to seek capital punishment will be made in coming weeks.

    Webb's attorney, David Schieck said Webb will plead not guilty at arraignment Wednesday. Webb, 33, has been at the Clark County jail in Las Vegas since his transfer in custody in October following his arrest in Minden, Louisiana.

    Houck, 23, is in a Louisiana prison, serving a four-year term after being found guilty last month of violating felony probation stemming from a May 2013 identity theft conviction.

    DiGiacomo said prosecutors will seek Houck's extradition to Las Vegas to stand trial.

    Sanchez's decomposing body was found Sept. 22 by a utility worker near a complex of extended-stay suites in a casino district southeast of downtown Las Vegas. Police said Houck and Webb were Sanchez's neighbors.

    The couple was arrested in Louisiana about two weeks later, after police traced spending on Sanchez's stolen credit cards, according to a police report.

    Houck told police that Sanchez died Aug. 18 after she and Webb duct-taped the woman's feet, hands and mouth, put a trash bag over her head, set a cellphone timer and returned about 30 minutes later.

    DiGiacomo said prosecutors will seek Houck's extradition to Las Vegas to stand trial.

    Sanchez's decomposing body was found Sept. 22 by a utility worker near a complex of extended-stay suites in a casino district southeast of downtown Las Vegas. Police said Houck and Webb were Sanchez's neighbors.

    The couple was arrested in Louisiana about two weeks later, after police traced spending on Sanchez's stolen credit cards, according to a police report.

    Webb was previously convicted in Louisiana of first-degree murder and battery of a police officer, and spent his entire adult life in prison before being released in December 2014, said Pam Laborde, spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

    http://www.timesunion.com/news/crime...#photo-9098521
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Couple timed woman's suffocation, prosecutors say

    By David Ferrara
    Las Vegas Review-Journal

    A couple in Las Vegas placed a plastic bag over 71-year-old Young Suk Sanchez's head and pulled out a cell phone, timing how long it would take for her to die, a prosecutor said Thursday.

    After hitting Sanchez over the head and binding her body with duct tape, they watched and waited for nearly a half hour. When Sanchez's heart stopped, they stuffed her body in a travel bag and tossed it in an underground vault along Boulder Highway, authorities said.

    Veronica Houck, 23, and Jamar Webb, 33, were indicted this week on murder, kidnapping, robbery, burglary and conspiracy charges in connection with the Aug. 20 killing, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo.

    The couple first befriended Sanchez at a Motel 6 several weeks earlier.

    "She had some concerns about them," the prosecutor said.

    But Webb and Houck ultimately lured her to an apartment at Siegel Suites in the 4800 block of Boulder Highway, where Sanchez was killed, DiGiacomo said.

    The prosecutor said a witness spotted Webb luring Sanchez to his apartment and hearing the victim fall, "and the victim is never seen again."

    Around the time Sanchez was killed in August, court documents show, someone at an east valley 7-Eleven used her Chase debit card to buy an 85-cent beer. Her body was found about 1.5 miles away from the convenience store.

    After the killing, the couple fled to Louisiana, where Webb had previously served nearly 17 years in prison on a first-degree murder conviction in which he killed a liquor store employee during a robbery, the prosecutor said. Webb had been free about four months before Sanchez was killed.

    Sanchez' body was found Sept. 22 in an underground vault, when a Las Vegas Valley Water District crew was checking meters at the complex near the intersection at Flamingo Road. Webb and Houck were arrested in Louisiana less than a month later.

    Houck and Webb arrested in Minden, La., on warrants issued in the killing of Sanchez, according to Las Vegas police.

    Court records indicate that Webb's 1999 murder charge stemmed from Webster Parish, Louisiana, where he was arrested in connection with Sanchez's death.

    Houck was arrested on a probation violation in Louisiana, where she "fully confessed" to the killing, DiGiacomo said. A woman with the same name as Houck has faced felony theft, identity theft, unauthorized use of an access card and check fraud charges from 2011 to 2013 in Webster Parish. She remains jailed in Louisiana, while Webb is scheduled to appear in Clark County District Court next week.

    District Judge Jennifer Togliatti ordered both held without bail.

    http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/la...rosecutors-say
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #6
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Webb was sentenced to 27- Life.
    https://ofdsearch.doc.nv.gov/form.php

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend
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    She was sentenced to 17 years to life:

    https://ofdsearch.doc.nv.gov/form.php

  8. #8
    Wilso
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    Both of them should've have received life without parole. Jamar Webb killed before and Veronica Houck probably took the life.

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