Las Vegas Mom Was Found Dead by Hikers 30 Years Ago. Now Police Have ID'd Her Killer

Mar. 15, 2025

Melonie White.Photo:Las Vegas Metropolitan Police

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police

Thirty years after a mother was found strangled to death alongside a Las Vegas highway, police have finally identified the man they believe killed her.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departmentannouncedthis week that genetic genealogy led them to identify Arthur Lavery, the man they believe killed 27-year-old Melonie White in late August 1994.

Lavery had moved from Las Vegas to California in the mid-2000s. He died from COVID there on Feb. 20, 2021, according to Las Vegas police.

White’s two younger brothers both spoke alongside police ata press conferencethis week and applauded investigators for “never giving up” on finding their sister’s killer.

“We will always miss Melonie and we believe the solving of her murder will bring closure to all of us,” her younger brother Jason White told reporters.

“She had a super kind heart,” her youngest brother Walter White added. “She was just a really nice person. It’s just tragic.”

The brothers said their older sister’s son is now 33 years old. “He’s happy and he’s healthy,” they said.

LVMPD to Provide Update on 1994 Cold Case Homicide.Las Vegas Metropolitan Police/Youtube

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police/Youtube

Melonie was “struggling” with her career around the time of her disappearance and was routinely traveling back-and-forth between the White family’s home in Phoenix and Las Vegas, where she would visit her boyfriend, her brother Walter said this week.

“She was kind of at some crossroads in her life at the time,” Walter, who was seven years younger than Melonie, recalled. “She had some trouble with jobs and trying to figure out what she was going to do for her career. She was kind of struggling.”

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Melonie’s family reported her missing after they couldn’t contact her for some time, Las Vegas police said at this week’s news conference announcing the identity of her killer.

Johansson said investigators at the time “received many leads, and every one of them was followed up on, but ultimately their exhausted effort did not identify the suspect.”

DNA of the suspected killer was recovered at the scene, but it didn’t return any matches in the national CODIS database used to find suspects and missing persons.However, in 2021, police sent the DNA profile to theVegas Justice League, a local volunteer organization who assists the department in solving cold cases. The volunteer group matched the DNA profile to Lavery using forensic genealogy.

White’s brothers said finally having an answer may allow their family some peace of mind after 30 years of not knowing who killed their sister.

“The effect of her death really shattered my mother,” Walter said. “That was probably the biggest ongoing thing for our family. My mom was absolutely destroyed and it took a long time for that to get back to a normal situation. It’s nice to have closure now.”

source: people.com