The Unsolved Murder of Graciela Alicia Gomez

Shaun It was Halloween twenty twenty one, and some folks on the east side of Las Vegas decided to rent a house and throw a party. Word started to spread online, and within a few hours, the hosts were completely overwhelmed. When more than three hundred people showed up.

John The host started taking steps to make sure that the party was safe for everyone. When a group was turned away because they refused to be patted down, they sped away, firing shots into the night. One of those bullets struck and killed a National Guard soldier, Graciela Alicia Gomez, and five years later, her killer or killers are still at large.

Shaun Hi, and welcome to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast where we focus on cases that deal with domestic violence as well as missing persons and unsolved cases. I'm your host, Sean.

John And I'm your co-host, John.

Shaun We've spoken many times on the podcast how Las Vegas Metro maintains a database online of their open and unsolved homicide cases. Most of the time, the information they offer is very basic just the names, dates, and maybe a few relevant details such as the description of a car or possibly a suspect if known. But for Graciela, Las Vegas Metro has her listed prominently at the top of their site as their featured cold case homicide, with links to additional information, videos and photos. However, despite all of that, there have been no arrests for her murder, and this October will mark five years since she was killed. Before we talk about that case, though, we want to mention another case of a missing person that's being investigated as a homicide, which isn't listed at all on the Metro homicide cold case list. The case of the disappearance of Irma McCutchen.

John Irma McCutchen was born in Armenia on June twelve, nineteen sixty eight, so she would be fifty seven years old today. She is a white female with blonde hair with brown or hazel eyes. Five foot five, one hundred and twenty pounds. She can read and speak English, Armenian and Russian fluently, and she has pierced ears and no tattoos or other distinguishing characteristics like that. She has a brother named David and she's the mother of two, and she was described as being a very dedicated mom. Her kids were both in college in twenty fourteen, and at the time, she was living with her ex-husband in the eight thousand nine hundred block of Coastal Walk Circle in Summerlin in the lakes area. Those two divorced in two thousand and nine after sixteen years of marriage, and he claimed it was amicable. She came to the United States after attending the University of Engineering of Armenian State, which is now called the National Polytechnic University of Armenia, where she got a master's in mechanical engineering in nineteen ninety six. Here in the United States, she went to the Manhattan School of Computer Technology and eventually ended up here in Las Vegas, where she was working as an insurance agent at Farmers Insurance starting in twenty twelve. Irma was last seen near Desert Inn Road and South Durango Drive on January nineteen, twenty fourteen. One source states that she had just met with a client at the Alonsa apartments. Here's where it gets a little weird, though. On the day of her disappearance, there were conflicting text messages sent from her phone. One set of text messages was sent to her brother David, just before she disappeared. It read, my battery is dying. I'm going to California on business. I'll be back on Friday. And she also wrote that she had left her vehicle at the Alonsa apartment complex with the keys in the gas cap, and that she would return in a few days. David called her son Arthur because this was a huge red flag. She needed her phone for her job, so she never let that happen. Another set of texts was sent from her phone to her boss, Michael Achille, at Farmers Insurance. The text to him said there's been an emergency with my husband's family. I'm heading to California for a funeral, and I'll be back on Friday. And just a note here that there was no funeral. Her car was found at the Alonsa Apartments, which was just less than a mile from where she and her ex-husband shared a home with the keys in the gas tank cover. It was one of those locking gas tank cover things. Her ex and her son were interviewed, and they told police that Irma had developed a drug problem and went to Mexico as a part of a religious awakening. In twenty eighteen, her son Arthur was interviewed by Ktnv news, and he told them, the only way to be close to God is to leave all your material belongings and ultimately commit suicide. At the time of her disappearance, police executed several search warrants on their home and they seized one hundred thousand dollars in cash and apparently also had wiretaps on the family. Shortly after that, her ex-husband sued Metro police, saying that their rights were violated. But that case was eventually dismissed. David was also interviewed by the police, and he told the police that Irma had told him that she was finally ready to leave him, meaning her ex-husband, and she might move to New York. No one has been charged in the case since then, and it's still open and being investigated as a homicide. There's currently a twelve thousand dollars reward for any information about her whereabouts. You can call Crime Stoppers at seven oh two three eight five five five five five, or call Metro's Cold Case Division at seven oh two eight two eight eight nine seven three, or email them at cold case homicide at lvmpd dot com. It's been sixteen years and her family deserves closure on this.

Shaun Graciela Gomez was a deeply beloved person, and it's almost impossible to overstate how much she was admired and respected by her family, friends, and her colleagues. Graciela Alicia Gomez was born on January twenty six, nineteen ninety nine, and she was a daughter, a sister, a niece, a cousin and a friend. She lived in Las Vegas. She graduated from Las Vegas High School in twenty seventeen. And while she was there, she participated in the partnership at Las Vegas or Pal program in her high school, which is this career and technical program that teaches leadership skills. And all the students participate in an internship. They take classes four days a week, and then on the fifth day, they're actually out in the field working. One of her teachers described her as being one of a kind. She was just such a lovely young woman. Everybody adored her. You couldn't find anyone that didn't like her. After high school, she joined the National Guard in September of twenty eighteen, so she clearly had a heart for serving her community. Her mother's name is Concepcion or Connie Velasquez Gomez, and we know that Graciela had many loved ones, including sisters and aunts, who were just devastated by her loss at the time of her death. Graciela was a specialist with the Las Vegas based seventeenth Sustainment Brigade headquarters, Nevada Army National Guard, and as part of her work, she was responsible for coordinating military convoy operations and military support operations. The National Guard is only a part time commitment, so she was considering continuing to pursue a career either in the military or possibly in the field of education. And a key part of her National Guard duties was that she worked at Southern Nevada testing and vaccination sites during the heat of the pandemic as part of the pandemic task force, and her photo is actually featured on the US military website showing her helping a patient make a vaccine appointment. She was described as an exceptional soldier with a steadfast work ethic, and Brigadier General Troy Armstrong of the Nevada National Guard said this about her. She placed her life on pause, put her uniform on every day and stood shoulder to shoulder with our first responders, community health care providers and local officials to support the battle against Covid nineteen.

John Her mother, Connie, said she was a good person, always trying to fly high, looking to be better. She had a great future ahead of her and a person who, in her twenty one years had accomplished so many things. General Armstrong said she was enthusiastic, dependable and committed. Her boyfriend, Ufd Catalan, described Graciela as very uplifting and caring toward everyone, bright and kind, someone who is upstanding in her community, who had all her life ahead of her. One of her former teachers, Robert Bray, said she was an enthusiastic student, a go getter who always came to class with a smile. We also know that she loved dogs. You can see her smiling, petting and hugging dogs in so many of the photos that have been shared.

Shaun So it was very late at night on October thirtieth, twenty twenty one or early morning on October thirty first, twenty twenty one at twelve thirty two a m that Metro received multiple nine hundred eleven calls about shots fired at a Halloween party. This party was taking place in the northeast part of town near Sunrise Mountain, North Charleston, between Sloane and Fogg streets. The exact address was two fifty seven Beasley Drive, which is near the Las Vegas Latter day Saints temple, the big one with the Six spires. The house had been rented for the party, and it started out as just a regular Halloween get together. But word spread on social media extremely quickly and it got out of hand fast. Lieutenant Ray Spencer of Metro said that they were sharing the party's details with friends on social media. That invitation was shared with hundreds of different individuals, and as a result of it being shared so many times, the party quickly began to get out of hand and most of the people who attended were teenagers. Metro says that between three hundred and four hundred people showed up at the party, and some of the people that showed up were not supposed to be there, and that led to some kind of altercation.

John One of the hosts of the party began patting down attendees for weapons when what's been described as five Hispanic males refused to be searched, and they were denied entry to the party. That led to an argument, but eventually the group left. Shortly after, the suspects sped past the residence and fired several rounds, striking three victims, all young women. Police said there wasn't really a specific target. They were just firing at the house and the party in general. The injuries to two women were not life threatening and they ended up driving themselves to UMC. But Graciela was shot in the abdomen despite attempts to perform CPR. She was brought to the hospital and later died.

Shaun During the first three months of the investigation, Metro conducted dozens of interviews chasing down multiple leads, but none of those leads led to any arrests or any concrete information as to who was responsible. And a long time passed. It wasn't until one year later that Metro conducted a press conference with Graciela's mom, her boyfriend, Brigadier General Troy Armstrong. Metro Lieutenant Ray Spencer said that all of their leads had dried up, so they chose to release a low quality video of the shooting that shows what looks like a four door sedan fire about eight shots at the house as it speeds away. The quality is very poor and you can't tell what color the car is, but as Lieutenant Ray Spencer said, someone out there knows who is responsible for her death. I urge anybody that was at that party that has not talked with investigator to please reach out to homicide so he can talk with you, because you may have that little piece of the puzzle that solves this murder.

John Metro has said that there were additional people in the front of the house when it happened, that there were people who fled from the party before the police even arrived. It was a costume party, so it may have been difficult for people to be identified or recognized. Also, people were drinking. Obviously, her family and friends have been pleading with the community to help. Connie has asked, help us find the people who did this to my daughter. Her boyfriend Yufei has stated everyone on the east side knows each other. There has to be someone that saw something or knows something. If these people are afraid to come out for whatever reason, there are anonymous hotlines.

Shaun We want to read a post that Troy Armstrong made on Facebook regarding Graciela. He wrote specialist Gomez, a graduate of Las Vegas High, an active member in the community, was an exceptional soldier with a positive attitude and steadfast work ethic. Additionally, it's worth noting that she most recently answered the call and displayed great dedication and extraordinary service to her community over the course of the past year, while working on the Covid nineteen Task Force in Las Vegas, helping our state get through the pandemic. He called her a rising star who was well liked. Homicide Detective Larry Samples has said this is only a cold case by policy or definition, but it's not a cold case to me. I work it constantly. If someone calls in something or we get any kind of tip, I drop what I'm doing and I'll work it day, night, weekends. It doesn't matter. Services for Graciela were held on November six, twenty twenty one, in Las Vegas, and it included a procession with military honors at the Crossing Church, and she was laid to rest at Davis Funeral Home.

John There is a two thousand dollars reward from Crime Stoppers. Anyone with any information is urged to call Lmpd's Homicide Division at seven oh two eight two eight three five two one or email homicide at lvmpd dot com. And as always, you can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at seven oh two three eight five five five five five. We've covered other Halloween murders, including the murder of Samara Norris Johnson, who was killed on Halloween night in twenty twenty three at the intersection of Shadow Oak and spotted pony drives around nine forty five p m. A teenager in that case was arrested for that crime. But as we've covered before, he wasn't charged with Samara's murder, but with a weapons charge. Samara was a beloved football player at Desert Pines High School and you can hear the story at Singapore dot com slash summary.

Shaun Graciela's murderer is also very similar to the murder of Kimera McGinnis, which happened in twenty twenty five. Kimura was only nineteen years old, and she was shot and killed at a Halloween party on October twenty fourth, twenty twenty five, leaving an infant son behind. And now, six months later, there hasn't been any word of any arrests in her case either. Kimura was known to be a fun loving person, and her mother called her the life of the party. She would have turned twenty years old on November twenty sixth, and according to a friend who was also at the party, what happened was a group of men in ski masks showed up and started shooting, and one of those bullets hit Kimura. The suspects took off before police officers arrived. Her family said that what happened was just the result of her being at the wrong place at the wrong time. That party was near Wes Craig Road and Clayton Street, specifically the four thousand five hundred block of Ansbert Street near West Craig Road. Her mother, Tanisha, has said, I do feel like she's not cared about at all, and her family is urging, if you were at the party and you kind of know something, you recorded something, you can call the police anonymously. When her mother was asked how she's going to raise Kimora's son without her, she said, we're going to tell him how amazing a mother she was, how she loved him to death. He brought light to her world. He was her pride and joy. She was a great mother. We're going to make sure he remembers her and knows who she was and that she loved him beyond words. This case is being investigated by the North Las Vegas Police Department. You can contact North Las Vegas PD at seven oh two six three three nine one one one, or, of course, you can contact Crime Stoppers. Her family has a GoFundMe helping to raise money for the costs associated with now her mother having to raise her son. And we will share that link as well.

John The stories of these young people being senselessly killed by gun violence stay with us. And we're asking you to share their stories this week in the hopes their families find answers and the people responsible are brought to justice. We created a short link to the Crime Stoppers tip form at. Crime Stoppers tips, and we urge anyone with any information to come forward. Even if you think the police already know what you're going to tell them, please come forward. Thank you, as always for listening. And remember, what happens here happens everywhere.

John Thanks for listening. Visit sinspod.co/subscribe for exclusive bonus content and to listen ad free. Remember to like and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and threads. Essenes and survivors. If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice. You can contact us at questions@sinsandsurvivors.com

Shaun If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence or needs support, please reach out to local resources or the National Domestic Violence Hotline. A list of resources is available on our website. sinsandsurvivors.com Signs and survivors. A Las Vegas True crime podcast is researched, written, and produced by your host, Shaun and John. The information shared in this podcast is accurate at the time of recording. If you have questions, concerns, or corrections, please email us. Links to source material for this episode can be found on our website. Survivors dot com.

John The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the podcast creators, hosts, and their guests. All individuals are innocent until proven guilty. This content does not constitute legal advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with legal professionals for guidance.