An 86-year-old wheelchair-bound man in Nevada died at the hands of his caretaker’s boyfriend before the pair allegedly dumped his body outside Las Vegas, stole his money and car, and then led deputies in Texas on a chase, according to local news.
41-year-old Patrick Byrom and 45-year-old Kortny Payne each face several charges, including open murder and robbery, records showed. The pair, who was already in prison in Colorado on an unrelated case, was transferred to the Clark County Detention Center last week.
Hikers found William Ellis’ body near Carpenter Canyon Road, which is west of the Spring Mountains, on Sept. 11, 2018, police said. The body was partially concealed with branches. Police suspect Byrom and Payne left Ellis’ body there on Aug. 24 – more than two weeks earlier.
The Clark County coroner’s office later determined Ellis died from sharp and blunt force trauma, police said. It was not until April 2021 that police were able to positively identify him. Police said he was a veteran.
Ellis, who was confined to a wheelchair, lived alone in a mobile home near Desert Inn Road and Nellis Boulevard, police said. Ellis posted an online advertisement in the summer of 2018 looking for a caretaker.
“I am an older physically limited male seeking personal assistant/caregiver three or four hours in the mornings,” Ellis wrote, according to the documents.
In November 2018, sheriff’s deputies in Texas arrested Byrom and Payne on allegations they committed a bank robbery in Colorado, documents said. The pair reportedly led deputies on a 14-mile-long pursuit in a car with fictitious plates.
The vehicle’s registered owner came back to Ellis, police said. It was never reported stolen.
Police later learned Byrom was arrested in Las Vegas in July 2018 for possession of a stolen vehicle, documents said. He was released on house arrest and then re-arrested for missing court, police said. In August 2018, a judge released Byrom on house arrest again pending sentencing.
Byrom appeared in Clark County District Court on Sept. 4, 2018, where he pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted possession of a stolen vehicle, records showed. Police suspect Ellis had already been deceased for about two weeks. A judge ordered Byrom to report to parole and probation ahead of a January 2019 sentencing date, which Byrom missed as he was already in custody in Texas.
Even though Byrom was in custody in the Colorado case, a judge issued a bench warrant for Byrom’s arrest after he missed his sentencing in January 2019. Byron’s public defender was “surprised” Byrom skipped the court appearance, documents said.
It took several years for police to obtain evidence in the case, but they eventually searched Ellis’ car, which remained in police custody in Texas, they said.
Detectives later learned Payne responded to Ellis’ ad and spoke about him in jail phone calls to Byrom, documents said. While on house arrest, Byrom’s GPS tracked to Ellis’ home several times in mid-August. Cellphone records also put him at Ellis’ trailer park and driving toward Pahrump and Carpenter Canyon, police said.
In one message located on a phone, Payne reportedly texted Byron, “He will sleep real good…” In subsequent conversations, it appeared Byrom and Payne discussed transferring money from a bank account.
In April 2021, a friend of Ellis’ told police he had hired a woman, later identified as Payne, as his caregiver for $15 an hour. The friend told police he was convinced “the caregiver ‘took him out to the desert and did him wrong,’” documents said.
Bank statements later showed Byrom received a multi-thousand-dollar deposit from Ellis’ account in the weeks before his body was found. Other financial documents showed purchases on Aug. 24, 2018, for a knife, lighter fluid and other items.
While speaking to police in 2022, Payne said she did not recognize Ellis and had many caretaking jobs, police said.
In May, Payne confessed to the murder and robbery, police said. She told detectives Byrom hit Ellis with an object. Several days later, the couple moved Ellis’ body into a pickup truck and then drove to Carpenter Canyon.
On Sept. 11, the same day of the body’s discovery, Byrom and Payne left Las Vegas as Byrom’s house arrest expired, police said.
Due to their murder charges, Byrom and Payne were being held without bail.
Tell us your thoughts...