Alleged killer Arthur Lavery identified in cold case

The victim, Melonie White, was at a crossroads in her life and has a son who is now 33, her family said at a recent news conference.

The murder of a Las Vegas woman has been solved nearly 30 years after she was found dead in August 1994, and officials say it was made possible by a group of local volunteers.

The Las Vegas Police Department made the announcement on October 22.

The case first began on Aug. 27, 1994, when two hikers found a dead woman near Gypsum Wash in Clark County, about 20 miles east of Las Vegas. police department says the press release.

The tourists called authorities, and the next day the Clark County coroner’s office identified the victim as Melonie White, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said. White’s cause of death was listed as homicide by strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Unit took over the investigation.

Detectives worked with local volunteers to solve the cold case

Lt. Jason Johansson of the police department’s homicide division shared more details about the case on press conference Oct. 22, adding that police believe White was dragged into the area.

Johansson said detectives had several leads, but none led to an arrest. In the end the matter reached a dead end.

Cold case detectives reviewed the case in 2010 and submitted evidence found at the scene for DNA testing. Based on the evidence, investigators were able to obtain a DNA profile of the male suspect and enter it into the Combined DNA Indexing System, a national DNA database, Johansson said.

“Unfortunately, it did not establish who this suspect was, nor did it compare or cross-reference any other investigations being conducted by law enforcement at the time,” Johansson said.

To get to the bottom of the case, detectives worked with Justice League Vegasa group of local volunteers who donate funds to solve unsolved cases in Las Vegas.

In 2021, cold case detectives worked with the Justice League of Vegas and sent the suspect’s DNA profile to the Texas-based Outram Lab, Johansson said.

On Aug. 26, Outram told investigators that the agency was able to use forensic genetic genealogy to identify the suspect, Arthur Joseph Lavery.

Suspect Lavery died in 2021 from complications due to COVID, Johansson said. He lived in Las Vegas at the time of the murder and was 38 years old at the time of the woman’s murder.

Detectives aren’t sure if the suspect and victim knew each other

Johansson of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said the department isn’t sure how the victim might have known her killer. In the spring of 1994, she moved to the Las Vegas area with her boyfriend.

Her family was unable to contact her in June or July 1994 and reported her missing, he said. She was last seen on August 26, 1994, and her body was found the next day, Johansson said at a news conference.

“Numerous … friends saw her the night before the murder in the area of 15th and Fremont,” he said.

When asked if Lavery had any other criminal history, Johansson said the man had an arrest for battery in Las Vegas but no other criminal history. That explains why there were no DNA matches when they looked up the suspect’s profile in the DNA database, he said.

The family says they now have closure after “30 years of not knowing what happened.”

Meloni’s two younger brothers spoke at a news conference and said they were grateful authorities had identified their sister’s killer.

“We are very, very grateful for the contribution of the Justice League of Vegas, whose donation towards DNA testing by police allowed police to solve the case,” said one of her brothers, Jason White.

Answering questions from reporters, he said that he learned about his sister’s death on Friday before going to school. Nearly three decades later, he was driving to work when he learned that his sister’s killer had been identified.

“It was a short conversation that kind of closed the book on 30 years of not knowing what happened,” her brother said.

According to him, his sister had a son who is now about 30 years old.

Her other brother, Walter White, spoke at the conference and said she was at a “crossroads in her life” when she died. She was having problems with her job and was trying to figure out what her next career move would be.

He said she was interested in fashion and what happened to her was tragic. He said her murder “destroyed” their mother.

When asked at a press conference about Meloni’s killer, her brothers said they weren’t forced to learn more about him.

“I’ll probably look into a press release or something, but I really don’t care,” Walter said.

Johansson of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said the Justice League of Vegas’ donation helped solve the case.

“It was their support that directly led to the closure of nine unsolved cases that would never have been solved without their help,” he said.

Saleen Martin is a reporter for the NOW USA TODAY team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia. – Boeing 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SalinMartin or write to her at [email protected].