LAS VEGAS -- George Tiaffay, the firefighter accused of hiring a homeless man to kill his wife, pleaded not guilty in Clark County District Court Thursday morning.
Tiaffay allegedly paid $600 to Noel Stevens to kill Shauna Tiaffay, his estranged wife. The woman's beaten body was discovered in her Summerlin apartment on Sept. 29, 2012 by George Tiaffay and the couple's 8-year-old daughter.
Stevens pleaded guilty on all counts in Shauna Tiaffay's death. Stevens' charges included conspiracy to commit murder, murder in the first degree and first degree burglary.
Shauna's sister struggled as she faced both men in court.
"It is really hard. You kind of have to separate what happened to Shauna and move forward in this process and just hold it together because if you think about what actually happened to her ... I wouldn't get out of the bed in the morning," Paula Stokes-Richards.
According to the arrest report, a tip lead police to Stevens and his camp site, where police discovered items from Shauna Tiaffay's apartment and a T-shirt stained with the woman's blood. Phone records linked Stevens and George Tiaffay. On the night of Shauna Tiaffay's killing, police noted six phone calls between the two men.
Detectives also retrieved surveillance video of Tiaffay and Stevens buying several items together, including a hammer, gloves and knife in mid-September.
The judge said Stevens will be sentenced following Tiaffay's trial. No bail has been set for Tiaffay because the judge is reviewing new information in the case.
The families of George and Shauna Tiaffay are still working out the custody arrangement for the couple's 8-year-old daughter. Currently the child is staying with the Tiaffay family.
George Tiaffay
Shauna Tiaffay
Noel Stevens
