Accused triple killer Juan Carlos Orona appeared dejected and saddened in court Wednesday during an initial appearance stemming from the shooting deaths of his girlfriend and her two children.
Orona, 29, was also observed wiping his nose with a tissue during proceedings in front of Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Amy Wilson.
“This case involves very serious, serious allegations,” Wilson told Orona. “Three people have died including two children. This court recognizes the tremendous grief that accompanies this unspeakable loss particularly for the family and the loved ones of those who died.
“Also, this is the formal beginning of the judicial process in this case,” Wilson said. “You, Mr. Orona, are entitled to the same constitutional protections and fair process that is afforded to everyone who appears before this court.”
Orona is charged with 13 felonies, including three counts of open murder with use of a deadly weapon and 10 counts of discharging a gun within a structure, in the fatal shootings of his girlfriend, Nohani Flores Osuna, 41, and her children, Maiya Deleon Flores, 16, and Noah Morales Flores, 7.
Maiya Flores was a student at Bonanza High School, according to the Clark County School District. Noah Flores was not listed as a student with the district.
Family members of the victims were in Wilson’s courtroom Wednesday to witness the proceedings but declined to speak with the Las Vegas Review-Journal afterward.
The victims were found dead in the family’s apartment in the 5100 block of O’Bannon Drive, near West Sahara Avenue and South Decatur Boulevard, on the evening of Sept. 1.
Police said Orona confessed to shooting the three during a domestic dispute in which Orona suffered superficial gunshot wound.
Orona told detectives that he spotted Flores Osuna’s vehicle alongside the vehicle of her ex-boyfriend near Charleston and Lamb boulevards earlier in the day, the Metropolitan Police Department said in an arrest report. Later in the day, Orona said, he drove to her apartment, and she told him the other man “was better in bed” than him, according to the report.
“After hearing this, Juan stated he blacked out, and when he came to, he was holding his Glock 9 mm handgun in the bathroom and Nohani and her children’s bodies were on the ground,” the report stated.
Orona’s father told detectives that his son had confessed to hurting his girlfriend and had lost control after confronting her. The father added that he told his son he needed to turn himself in and be held accountable for his actions, the arrest report stated.
Orona was asked by the judge Wednesday if he had received a copy of the criminal complaint and if he understood it, which he said he did. He was also asked if he planned to hire a private attorney. Orona said in a barely audible voice that he couldn’t afford an attorney, prompting Wilson to appoint Anna Clark of the Clark County public defender’s office to represent him.
Clark declined comment afterward.
Orona is being held without bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 21.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com.
