Couple Arrested at Nevada Casino Hours After Man Found Stabbed to Death in Desert

A couple was arrested at a Nevada casino Saturday, hours after a motorist discovered the body of a 29-year-old man who had been stabbed multiple times in the Arizona desert.

Jacob Dylan Middlebrook, 35, and his girlfriend, Layne Justine McIntosh, 36, both of Bullhead City, Ariz., were taken into custody at an unidentified casino in Laughlin, Nev., on suspicion of second-degree homicide.

Police said a passing motorist reported finding a body at approximately 11:45 a.m. Saturday (Nov. 7), along the 3100 block of Silver Creek Road, a desert area about a mile east of Bullhead Parkway.

Officers discovered a man with multiple stab wounds. Detectives were called to investigate the suspicious death, which authorities are treating as a homicide.

The victim, whose identity has not been released, was a Bullhead City resident who had been experiencing homelessness, police said.

Missing Vehicle Leads to Casino

During their investigation, detectives identified a possible suspect and established that the victim’s vehicle was missing.

At approximately 4:40 p.m., less than five hours after the body was discovered, officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department located the vehicle parked at the Laughlin casino, which authorities have not identified.

The Nevada resort town sits across the Colorado River from Bullhead City, on the opposite side of the Arizona-Nevada state line.

Police said both suspects would be booked into the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas pending extradition to Mohave County, Ariz., where the homicide investigation is being conducted.

The department did not announce a court date or provide a timetable for the suspects’ transfer to Arizona.

Motive Unknown

Investigators have not revealed a possible motive for the killing or whether the suspects knew the victim.

Under Arizona law, second-degree murder can involve an intentional killing without premeditation, or a death caused by conduct showing extreme indifference to human life.

The offense is classified as a Class 1 felony. Under the state’s standard sentencing provision, a conviction carries a prison term of 10 to 25 years, with longer ranges in certain cases involving prior convictions.

Police said the victim’s name would be released once his next of kin had been notified.

The investigation remains ongoing.