The Crime
In the early morning hours of May 25, 1997, two men, Jeremy Strohmeyer (age 18) and David Cash, Jr. (age 17), were at the Primadonna Resort & Casino at Primm, Nevada, near the California border. The two young men had arrived at the gambling establishment, accompanied by Cash's father, from their homes in Long Beach.
At around 4 a.m., Strohmeyer began repeatedly making apparently "playful" contact with 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson, who was roaming the casino alone. The young girl's father was gambling and drinking. Her older brother Harold was supposed to be watching her but failed to do so resulting in Sherrice running around unmonitored. Eventually, Strohmeyer followed Sherrice into a women's restroom.
While in the restroom, the two began throwing wet paper wads at one another. Sherrice then reportedly tossed a yellow plastic "Wet Floor" sign at Strohmeyer. At around this time Strohmeyer's friend, David Cash, entered the restroom and witnessed Strohmeyer forcibly take Iverson into a stall. When Cash looked in from the adjacent stall, he saw Strohmeyer holding his left hand over Iverson's mouth and fondling her with his right. After this, Cash left the restroom and was followed 20 minutes later by Strohmeyer, who immediately confessed to him that he had molested and killed the girl.
Three days later, Strohmeyer was taken into custody at his home after two classmates in Long Beach identified him after security tape footage captured by cameras at the casino was released by Nevada police and played on the television news. Strohmeyer was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and sexual assault of a minor. When questioned by police, Strohmeyer stated that he molested Iverson and strangled her to stifle her screams. Before leaving, Strohmeyer noticed Iverson was still alive and twisted her head in an attempt to break her neck, and after hearing a loud popping sound, rested her body in a sitting position on the toilet with her feet in the bowl. Strohmeyer's attorneys later tried to have the confession suppressed because he was not given legal counsel. However, the police claimed that Strohmeyer waived his right to have an attorney present during questioning.
Read more about this topic: Jeremy Strohmeyer
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