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Trotter, 37, faces a possible death sentence or life in prison
following his convictions on charges of murder, burglary and
robbery with a weapon. He was convicted in the stabbing deaths
of Sang Boi Nghia and Khoung Ba Le Nguyen at the Circus Circus
hotel.
The same jury began hearing testimony and evidence Tuesday in
the penalty phase of his trial.
Jurors deliberated about three hours after hearing some two
weeks of evidence and testimony, the Review-Journal reported.
They learned that Nghia, 38, owned a tour business with her
husband in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Nguyen, 30, was Nghia's employee. Their bodies were found on
June 1, 2018, after they did not show up for a tour group trip.
Police said hotel employees later determined the door lock on
their room didn’t work properly.
Trotter was identified as a suspect in the killings before he
and his girlfriend, Itaska Dean, were arrested about a week
later, following a police chase in Chino, California.
Trotter was serving five years’ probation at the time after
pleading guilty to felony resisting a police officer with a
weapon, authorities said. He has been jailed in Las Vegas while
awaiting trial, which was postponed several times because of the
COVID-19 pandemic and pretrial litigation.
Dean pleaded guilty in California to evading arrest. She was not
charged with any crime in the slayings of Nghia and Nguyen, and
testified during Trotter's trial.
Trotter testified last week that a friend who had given him
stolen goods to resell in the past gave him items belonging to
Nghia and Nguyen, the Review-Journal reported. But prosecutors
showed video of Trotter in a hotel elevator with a backpack that
police said included a purse, two wallets, a cellphone, jewelry,
watches and Vietnamese cash.
Prosecutor Michelle Fleck cast Nghia and Nguyen as "completely
innocent people” who did nothing to deserve being killed, the
Review-Journal reported.
Defense attorney Lisa Rasmussen argued that forensic evidence
was lacking and Trotter’s DNA and fingerprints were not found in
the hotel room, the newspaper said.
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