A Vietnamese couple visiting Las Vegas with a tour group were stabbed to death and found Friday afternoon inside a Strip hotel room, according to Metro Police.
Initially, investigators were leaning on the theory that the Circus Circus deaths were the result of a murder-suicide, but upon further investigating, they determined they were victims of a slaying, Lt. Ray Spencer said late Friday.
A suspect or suspects has not been identified, Spencer said. "We will be out here for several hours continuing to process the crime scene."
The couple, a man and a woman on a tour from Los Angeles, had arrived to the hotel with a tour group Thursday night, Spencer said.
Friday morning, they didn’t show up for a scheduled trip to the Grand Canyon, and security went to check on them about 3 p.m. and made the grisly discovery, Spencer said. They were expected to return to California Saturday to then fly back to Vietnam.
A nearby guest then told investigators that there'd been an argument heard from the couple’s room about 2 a.m., but the disturbance wasn’t reported, Spencer said, noting that investigators now believe that what was heard was possibly the killer or killers.
Due to that and the fact that the door hadn’t been unlocked since then until the welfare check, detectives believe the deaths could have been the result of a murder-suicide, Lt. Ray Spencer said initially.
On Friday night, detectives remained on the scene and were going through the hotel’s surveillance system to try to gather more clues, Spencer said. Only half of a floor was taped off by police, and investigators were expected to remain at the scene into Saturday morning.
Due to the victims and other persons on the tour being foreign and not speaking English, it was challenging interviewing them, Spencer said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Metro at 702-828-3521 or by email at [email protected]. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or at crimestoppersofnv.com. Tips leading directly to an arrest or indictment processed through Crime Stoppers may be eligible for a cash reward.