LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Metro Police say Terrell Rhodes, the boyfriend of Amari Nicholson’s mother, has been booked for the 2-year-old’s killing. He faces one count of first-degree murder.
Amari was first reported missing from the Emerald Suites at Paradise and Twain on May 5.
Lt. Richard Meyers said, “As the investigation progressed, it became very clear to us that Terrell Rhodes was our primary suspect.”
He noted there will be other charges, in addition to the murder charge, as Rhodes “chose” to fight with police officers during his arrest. Meyers says Rhodes briefly retrieved one of the officers’ firearm during the altercation. The incident was resolved, and the suspect transported to the Clark County Detention Center
Sources earlier told the I-Team that Rhodes had confessed to the murder.
Rhodes spoke to 8 News Now last week, claiming a woman took Amari from the Emerald Suites where they were staying while the boy’s mother was in Colorado.
“They notified themselves as my girlfriend’s baby-daddy’s sister, and they said they were here to pick up Amari,” he told reporter Joe Moeller, “and notified me that it was already pre-arranged.”
Amari’s father’s side of the family denied that ever happened.
Despite the holes in Rhodes’ story, Amari’s mother stood by what he said. He even responded to those who suspected him.
“What’s really sickening is that people is making assumptions, thinking that I had something to do with it,” he told us. “…We ain’t never do nothing like that to him.”
According to official documents, Rhodes is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday morning at 9 a.m.
It remains unclear if police have found Amari’s body. Meyers says the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact CrimeStoppers at (702) 385-5555 or on their website.
