UPDATE ON FEB. 22: An arrest report revealed new details about the murder of Julia Garcia.
According to the report, Joseph Sanchez and Michael Trieb snuck into Julia's home on the morning of Nov. 5 and confronted her in the kitchen. Joseph hit Julia in the head with a metal bar, forced her to the ground, and stabbed her in the abdomen. Julia fought back, so Michael grabbed her legs as Joseph strangled her.
Brenda Garcia returned home, and all three cleaned up the scene of the crime and dumped the body in the desert. Joseph took Julia's jewelry, and Brenda paid both Michael and Joseph $50 for carrying out the murder.
The motive is not entirely clear but appears to be gang-related. Brenda claims that Joseph needed to murder someone as part of his gang initiation, while Joseph says that Brenda needed to kill her mother to get out of her gang.
The arrests came more than 2 years after Julia's body was initially found by Red Rock Search and Rescue. Crews said they hoped the arrests would help provide closure.
ORIGINAL STORY
Las Vegas police have arrested three young adults for the 2014 murder of a woman who was found wrapped in plastic in the desert.
During the course of the investigation, detectives identified the daughter of the victim, 18-year-old Brenda Garcia, 19-year-old Joseph Sanchez, and 19-year-old Michael Trieb as the suspects in this case. All three were arrested on Feb. 18 and transported to Clark County Detention Center.
The woman's body was found shortly before 8 a.m. Nov. 15, 2014, in the desert near Pabco Road and State Route 147 by Red Rock Search and Rescue.
They are facing charges of murder with use of a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder and robbery with use of deadly weapon.
All three suspects were juveniles at the time of the murder.
