The 42-year-old gunman of the Nevada family murder-suicide on Monday sent concerning texts to his brother the night before the murder, according to law enforcement sources.
Marvin Patterson messaged his brother that he was getting evicted, and his car was repossessed. Those texts possibly prompted Patterson’s brother to visit the apartment Monday morning where he found the family shot, according to Metro Police.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said Patterson killed his wife 34-year-old Schinara Patterson along with his 14-year-old stepdaughter Ki’Ziah Cone and 6-year-old daughter Zi’Myra Patterson before shooting himself. He also shot his 11-year-old stepson, Derrick, who remains in the hospital. The coroner’s office said the deceased victims were shot in the head and Patterson died by suicide.
Metro Police responded to the murder-suicide at around 10 a.m. after being called to the Loreto & Palacio Apartments near Durango and U.S. Highway 95.
Patterson was on house arrest awaiting trial in April next year on nine charges related to sexual crimes against children, according to Clark County District Court records. They include five counts of lewdness with a child under the age of 14, two counts of sexual assault with a minor under the age of 16, one count of lewdness with a child under the age of 16 and one count of first-degree kidnapping of a minor.
Patterson was arrested in October 2022 according to Las Vegas Justice Court records and his bail was set at $100,000 with conditions of surrendering his passport, high electronic monitoring and staying away from children under the age of 18. However, it was lowered two months later by Judge Diana Sullivan to $10,000 with the same conditions. Patterson posted bond.
Patterson was under house arrest during the shootings. Metro Police confirmed that Patterson was following the rules established for his electronic monitoring and all the locations he was monitored at, including the apartment where the murder-suicide happened, were approved.
Some friends of Schinara attending a fundraiser on Thursday to cover funeral costs questioned why she and the children were at the apartment.
Her previous landlord said she was evicted from a Las Vegas home late November because she was unable to pay rent. It’s unclear if she moved in with Patterson despite the conditions of his bail.
Patterson’s attorney, Bret Whipple, said to look at his motion to lower Patterson’s bail, which was presented in court.
It said Patterson could not post the $100,000 bail. The motion also cited the Valdez-Jimenez versus Eighth Judicial Court in 2020 decision for the process to set bail. It established that judges should consider if the defendant is a flight risk and won’t appear back in court as well as if that person is a danger to the community.
Patterson’s attorney argued that his client was not a flight risk because he self-surrendered to authorities in October 2023. He also said Patterson had “several individuals who can come forward to testify on behalf of his character -his brother, his wife, his ex-girlfriend, and his son.”
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