
Elvira Canalez-Gomez with her two sons, Caesar on the left and Adrian on the right. (Photo: Facebook)
A trial date has been set for teenager Adrian Navarro-Canales who had previously pleaded not guilty to causing their deaths.
Elvira Canales-Gomez, 40, and Cesar Navarro, 9, were found stabbed to death in the apartment in Henderson on Sept. 20.
It is believed that they were murdered on Sept 17.
On that day Gomez, her children and her boyfriend, Carlos Rubio-Villanueva were celebrating Navarro-Canales’ 16th birthday.
Her boyfriend spoke to her the next day and then was not able to get in touch with her.
Concerned, Rubio-Villanueva and a niece of Gomez’ contacted police a number of times between Sept 18 and Sept 20.
Police responded to each call and finally broke down the door to check on the family and discovered their bodies.
At first, police thought that Navarro-Canales might have be an endangered person and wanted to locate him, but soon realized that he was a suspect.
He had tried to cover up the murders by texting his father Enrique Velasquez, who lives in California, letting him know that all was well and that his mother and brother were sleeping.
He was arrested at a food court on the Las Vegas strip a week after the murders when a person recognized him and tipped off police.
Eerily, it is believed that Navarro spent time in the family home after the murders.
Navarro-Canales has been described as extremely volatile and was not happy living in the US.
He was not attending classes when the school year began in August, spent his time playing video games and punched and pushed his mother on numerous occasions.
He reportedly wanted to return to Mexico where he was born.
Adrian Navarro-Canales’ trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 22, 2014.
Because of his age, he is not eligible for the death penalty. If found guilty of first degree murder, he faces up to a life sentence without parole.