Two Utah Highway Patrol troopers Wednesday arrested a male juvenile wanted in connection with the murder of a 3-year-old child in Mesquite, Nev.
The juvenile, whose exact age and identity were not immediately available, was arrested about five miles south of Nephi as he headed north on I-15 about 7:45 a.m., UHP Lt. Doug McCleve said.
The male juvenile was wanted in connection with the 2 a.m. stabbing of two children, ages 3 and 10, in Mesquite. According to information broadcast by police dispatchers, the 3-year-old child died from wounds sustained in the incident at a Las Vegas hospital.
Hospital spokesman Rick Plummer said the older girl was unconscious Wednesday in the pediatric intensive care unit.
Deputy Mesquite Police Chief Joe Szalay called the stabbing the worst case he'd seen in 13 years as a police officer.
Szalay said the attackers and the children's parents might have argued before the attack at a Mesquite casino.
"It doesn't seem to be a random home invasion," Szalay said. "There's probably some type of association through friendship or some prior dealings. There might've been some type of a conversation or confrontation."
Police said the children and their parents were living at the CasaBlanca resort in Mesquite, a fast-growing desert town about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas near the Utah state line.
Mesquite police were called by CasaBlanca security, and the first officer to arrive found the younger girl unconscious in the bloody RV.
"The 10-year-old said a man knocked on the door and told them that their mommy had been hurt," Szalay said. "When she opened the door, he held his hand over her mouth and started to stab her. That's the last thing she remembers."
Other details of the incident were not immediately available. Mesquite police would only confirm that authorities in Juab County had arrested the male juvenile and two juvenile girls in connection with the stabbing.
The three were being held in the Juab County Jail, and Mesquite police were expected to arrive in Nephi by noon Wednesday to begin interviewing the trio.
"At this point, because of the nature of the investigation, we're not processing the car, we're not asking questions," McCleve said. "We're holding these individuals while Mesquite PD comes up to interview these individuals and process the car."
An attempt to locate the trio was broadcast to law enforcement officers around the state Wednesday morning. They were told to look for an individual wanted for murder out of Mesquite driving a white Honda Accord, Nevada license plate 099-NBR. The male was believed to be traveling with his sister to the Magna or Murray area.
Police in Murray watched a residence in their city believed to have a possible connection with the individuals.
After hearing the vehicle and suspect description, UHP troopers Cory Wright and Greg Kelsey parked their police cruisers on the side of the freeway watching for any cars matching the description given by Mesquite authorities.
"They were actually out there on the interstate watching for this possible subject to come through and sure enough there it was," McCleve said. "The system worked flawlessly in this case."
The troopers took all three individuals into custody without incident, McCleve said.
E-mail: djensen@desnews.com