iPhone app iPad app Android phone app Android tablet app More

Bryan Clay Arrested: Las Vegas Man Accused Of Sexual Assault, Murder Of Mother And Daughter

The Huffington Post  |  By Posted: 05/ 1/2012 1:50 pm

Bryan Clay
This photo provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows Bryan Devonte Clay, who has been arrested for investigation of the mid-April West Las Vegas home invasion, sex attacks and hammer slayings of a mother and her 10-year-old daughter, and the near-fatal bludgeoning of their husband and father. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

A man with uncertain motives is accused of a "savage" murder spree that left two women and a 10-year-old girl the alleged victims of sexual assault.

Las Vegas resident Brian Clay was arrested by police in Nevada on Friday. The 22-year-old suspect told investigators that he had no recollection of allegedly raping a 50-year-old woman, murdering a mother and her daughter and using a hammer beating a man so senseless that he is now unable to communicate with authorities, according to an arrest report obtained by The Huffington Post.

"This was a complete stranger killing a mother and daughter and attacking the father," Steiber told the Associated Press Saturday. "I've been doing this 24 years, and you don't see cases like this. I can't even put this into words."

Police learned of the incident on Monday, April 16, when nine-year-old Christopher Martinez, the victim's son, "told school officials that his mother and sister were dead" at his home. Martinez also said that his father "had two holes in his head" and was "acting strange," according to the arrest report.

Clothing left at the scene of the crime, a series of cell phone calls and a tip from the suspect's mother eventually led detectives to Clay.

Investigators say that before the April 15 attack, Clay ingested a combination of "dark liquor" and several doses of ecstasy, which he called "transformers," in addition some "Sherm," or cigarettes dipped in PCP.

Clay eventually made his way to the streets, where he encountered his first alleged rape victim. The woman later told detectives that she called 911 as Clay approached, but that didn't stop the suspect from forcing her into a tall desert brush area where he violently sexually assaulted her, police said.

“He punched her in the head, put his hands around her neck and squeezed, choking her,” according to the arrest report.

The alleged victim managed to hit Clay in the left side of his face and head with a rock she was holding in her hand. Police say that when Clay heard sirens, he grabbed the woman's cell phone and fled the scene.

Shortly after, for no apparent reason, the suspect entered the home of Igancia and Arturo Martinez for the second half of his violent spree. Once inside, Clay allegedly raped and killed Ignacia, 38, and her daughter, 10-year-old Karla Martinez, the report claims. The suspect also allegedly assaulted Arturo Martinez, leaving him with severe head trauma.

On April 16, when police entered the Martinez home, they found the ailing father and the bodies of the mother and her child.

Both deaths were ruled homicides. Authorities are unsure why Clay spared the two Martinez boys.

Several phone calls placed on the first alleged rape victim's cell phone linked Clay to the incident, while multiple abandoned articles of clothing placed Clay at the Martinez home. DNA samples collected from both crime scenes connected Clay to the attacks.

On April 27, the suspect's mother, Latasha White, contacted authorities to report that her son was at her residence and that she "knew police were looking" for him, according to the report. Authorities soon took Clay into custody.

During police interrogation, Clay repeatedly insisted that he "did not remember what happened" and he "did not deny being involved," police said. The suspect told detectives that they "should have killed him instead of arresting him," the report said.

Clay is charged with two counts of murder with use of a deadly weapon, one count of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon, one count of attempted murder, one count of first-degree kidnapping, four counts of sexual assault, one count of robbery and one count of burglary. He is also charged with one previous outstanding count of child abuse and neglect.

Clay is scheduled for an initial court hearing on Wednesday.

FOLLOW CRIME

A man with uncertain motives is accused of a "savage" murder spree that left two women and a 10-year-old girl the alleged victims of sexual assault. Las Vegas resident Brian Clay was arrested by po...
A man with uncertain motives is accused of a "savage" murder spree that left two women and a 10-year-old girl the alleged victims of sexual assault. Las Vegas resident Brian Clay was arrested by po...
 
 
  • Comments
  • 175
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Post Comment Preview Comment
To reply to a Comment: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to.
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
Page: 1 2 3 4 5  Next ›  Last »  (5 total)
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
jenn1977
I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble.
08:23 PM on 09/05/2012
"Savage" doesn't even begin to sum this guy up. Great way for my hard earned tax dollars to be spent.
10:21 AM on 08/18/2012
Another stupid white girl hooked up with a black thug and ends up dead.
08:21 PM on 03/04/2013
No one hooked up with that animal. He raped women.
01:50 PM on 05/03/2012
He will plead not responsible and be let out. Prepare yourself folks. The DA has to prove that he knowingly committed the crime and some of these charges carry the burden of intent. They also have to prove that he was aware what he was doing was wrong. Hard to prove if he was drunk and high on drugs.
05:29 AM on 05/05/2012
Don't know how its done out there but where I am from, if you willingly and knowingly take the drugs/alcohol anything and EVERYTHING you do you after or because of that, you are held accountable for. In other words you can't do drugs and drink and get away with whatever you want. If you can prove intent to take substances that will impair your judgement and decisions and you do the crime, then YOU OWN IT. No, being drunk and high on drugs does not take away intent. To bad, so sad
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Micah Floe
restructuring irrational thought patterns
03:45 PM on 05/05/2012
When has this ever happened? Too much talk radio: coming from a black guy: they are going to put this negro under the jail: where he belongs.
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
italianchoctaw
Artist / Passionate defender of nature and animals
01:04 PM on 05/03/2012
"Not guilty"??!! If it weren't so sad I'd have to laugh. Doesn't matter that you "had no recollection" Mr. Clay...DNA evidence clearly remembers and you are going down!!!!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
PhloxJeana
Never baptize a cat.
02:50 AM on 05/05/2012
Claiming he had no recollection isn't a defense. He'd have to prove a form of insanity, not the other way around.
10:41 AM on 05/03/2012
This is a no-brainer- fry him!
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
betopless
Dream Big, Live Large!
10:04 AM on 05/03/2012
What a freakin animal. Why didn't they just put him out of his misery, and save the tax payers a lot of money!
08:24 PM on 03/04/2013
Because they would have lost their jobs and gone to jail
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Wanda Glass
Re-examine all that you have been told... dismiss
08:56 AM on 05/03/2012
"The suspect told detectives that they "should have killed him instead of arresting him,"

The only small tidbit of intelligence this lowlife has probably ever uttered.
photo
tomjefferson2005
Obama, House, Senate 2012 for the sake of America
03:18 AM on 05/03/2012
Hang him.
photo
scrapper7
"Baby Jay-Cee:)"
09:44 PM on 05/02/2012
He's BEYOND A MONSTER! Take him out to the desert. Cover his miserable body with honey and fireants, while he's tied to a cactus. Then, simply walk away. However, upon leaving the site, you should conveniently forget his location. Not to worry, though! Sooner or later, vultures will guide you back.
08:47 PM on 05/02/2012
Execute him today.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Escalonz
08:38 PM on 05/02/2012
If someone purposely tanks up on drugs/booze and goes out and commits murder/ rape is it justice to allow an insanity plea? We are all responsible for our actions whether we are ignorant or intelligent and this type plea for this particular case has no business in a court of law. I don't know if Nevada has capital punishment but this is just another one that deserves execution as beyond the shadow of doubt has been more than satisfied and believe DNA has been entered as evidence although have not read that in the article. Otherwise this loose cannon gets a free lunch for the rest of his life at the expense of the tax payers and this is called justice? More like an award as prisoners are taken better care of than the homeless.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
PhloxJeana
Never baptize a cat.
02:55 AM on 05/05/2012
He can plea fairy dust if he wants. But he has to prove insanity, otherwise he's assumed responsible fore his actions. As you pointed out, he willingly imbibed, this wasn't an unexpected reascion to a prescription drug.
06:58 PM on 05/02/2012
Kudos to the Las Vegas Police Department and the mother of the suspect for solving this horrendous crime in such a timely manner. My heart goes out to the familys of the victoms. Lets not try this in the public and taint the outcome of the results by racisim. It must be very hard on the mother of the suspect to have turned her son in. I commend her for her strength.
08:27 PM on 03/04/2013
Giving an opinion on a message board is not "trying this in the public".
04:32 PM on 05/02/2012
And you know this guy is going to waltz into a courtroom and plead not guilty by reason of insanity and waste a vast amount of taxpayer money. He will get a lawyer who will talk about what a disadvantaged childhood he had, he was under the influence, etc., and will beg for the leniency he denied his victims. Drug abuse is a reason for this horrific crime, NOT an excuse. In cases where DNA is undisputed, find them guilty then instantly send them to meet their maker. May God have mercy on his soul, mine is reserved for his innocent victims.
08:43 AM on 05/03/2012
Being under the influence is not a defense available to criminals and unless he has a long history and can prove it, of mental illness, insanity is also not an option. I second the kudos to this guy's mother for turning him in.
11:39 AM on 05/07/2012
Absolutely! How horrific a decision this mother had to make! I could not fathom my child doing something this heinous! Prayers to both families!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Escalonz
11:42 AM on 05/05/2012
The only thing the SOB said/did correctly was to tell the cops they should have shot him intead of arrest him.
11:41 AM on 05/07/2012
You bet! However, having heard so many similar stories like this while living in California, police are often averse to killing/shooting subjects for fear of wrongful death suits by surviving family members. Google the LA shoot-out where two men armed head-to-toe in bullet-proof armour held up a bank and shot many, many innocent people. One of the gunmen's families filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the police department for shooting and killing him! Can you say ridiculous???
04:24 PM on 05/02/2012
Oh where oh where are Rev Jessie and uncle Al??? Why is this not a hate crime?? Where are all the protests?? I guess since the victims are hispanic no one cares.
05:49 AM on 05/03/2012
that's looks like chric rock
This comment has been removed due to violations of our [Guidelines]