Las Vegas police arrested a 17-year-old high school student — expelled for trying to set his school on fire — in the death of a 61-year-old woman who regularly slept on a downtown sidewalk.
Key facts
- Victim: Marceline Biasini, 61, found dead April 21 in Las Vegas
- Suspect: Dennis Geiggar, 17, arrested May 5 on open murder charge
- Cause of death: Blunt head trauma, ruled homicide by coroner
- Evidence: ~61 impact sounds on audio; presumptive blood on suspect’s shoes
- Background: Expelled in January for alleged arson attempt at school
What happened
On the morning of April 21, a passerby found Marceline Biasini lying motionless on a Las Vegas sidewalk, outside a business she reportedly used as a regular sleeping spot. It was just after 8 a.m. Emergency responders arrived to find her suffering from severe injuries. She did not survive.
The Clark County coroner’s office later ruled her death a homicide caused by blunt head trauma. By then, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police detectives had already begun reviewing the area’s surveillance footage — and what they found was deeply disturbing.
“A scream is heard followed by approximately 61 loud thuds” — but the exact location of the attack was hidden from camera view.
Nearby cameras captured a suspect approaching Biasini’s location in the middle of the night and leaving roughly a minute later. The killing itself wasn’t visible on camera. But the audio told a grim story: a scream, then what investigators counted as approximately 61 loud impact sounds in rapid succession.
The suspect
Detectives zeroed in on Dennis Geiggar, a 17-year-old who had been enrolled at Valley High School until January, when he was expelled after allegedly attempting to start a fire on campus. At the time of the killing, he was attending school online.
Police records reviewed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal describe a pattern of aggressive behavior: Geiggar had reportedly been involved in numerous incidents where his anger led to him punching walls and trash cans. He had been enrolled in anger management classes.
Surveillance footage from a nearby 7-Eleven showed a suspect in a red hooded sweatshirt and Vans shoes — clothing Geiggar was known to wear at school. Detectives also found bloody footwear impressions at the crime scene. When tested, Geiggar’s Vans shoes came back presumptively positive for blood, though DNA comparison had not yet been completed at the time of his arrest.
Geiggar told police he had visited a 7-Eleven near the scene with his older brother around 1–2 a.m. that night. However, store footage from that time frame reportedly did not show him inside. His physical description was also said to match that of the suspect seen on surveillance video.
Where things stand
Geiggar was arrested on May 5 and charged with one felony count of open murder — a charge used when prosecutors allege homicide without yet specifying the degree of the offense. He has denied the accusations.
It was not immediately clear whether he had retained an attorney. He has not been convicted, and the case remains pending.
