Maurice Vanderhall admitted to second-degree murder in the December stabbing death of 26-year-old Kennedi Oriti and is set to be sentenced May 6.
HENDERSON, NV — A Henderson man has pleaded guilty after police say he called 911, said he had killed his girlfriend and asked to be arrested, bringing a criminal case closer to sentencing in a December domestic violence killing at a condo near Horizon Ridge Parkway.
Maurice Vanderhall, 28, admitted guilt in the death of Kennedi Oriti, 26, months after officers found her with multiple stab wounds inside the couple’s condo, according to court records and local reports. The plea ends the path toward a trial and shifts the case to sentencing, where a judge is expected to decide how long Vanderhall will serve under an agreement that calls for at least 10 years in prison and leaves open a much longer term.
The case began the evening of Dec. 2, 2025, when Henderson police were sent to the 200 block of West Horizon Ridge Parkway, near Eastern Avenue, after a man called dispatch and reported that he had killed his girlfriend and was trying to hurt himself. By the time officers arrived, police said, Vanderhall was still at the condo and let them inside. There, they found Oriti with multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. In 911 audio later described by local television station KLAS, Vanderhall told dispatchers, “I killed my girlfriend,” and said he needed officers to arrest him. Police took him into custody and later transported him for medical treatment before booking him into jail.
Investigators built their early timeline in part through a family friend who had been helping Oriti move out that day, according to the arrest report cited by local outlets. The friend told police he had helped load her belongings into a vehicle and believed she went back inside one last time to make sure she had everything and to say goodbye to Vanderhall. After several minutes passed, he texted her and was told she needed a minute, the report said. When more time went by, he kept calling, but she did not answer. He later saw police vehicles enter the complex and learned something had happened inside. The same account said Oriti had been staying at the condo with Vanderhall for about six months. Investigators later recovered three bloodied knives from inside the residence, including a butcher knife, and authorities said Vanderhall was found covered in blood.
The violence described in the case records was severe. Reports that cited the Clark County coroner’s findings said Oriti suffered at least 20 stab wounds, some of them defensive, showing evidence that she tried to protect herself during the attack. Law and Crime, citing the arrest report and court records, reported that many of the wounds were to her face and neck. Investigators also said Vanderhall injured himself after the attack. According to the arrest report described by multiple outlets, he stabbed himself in the forearm and knee, told police he had tried to die by suicide and said he had also attempted to hang himself in a closet. What has not been fully explained in public records so far is what happened inside the condo in the final moments before the stabbing began, whether there had been previous reported calls for service tied to the relationship or what prosecutors planned to present as motive if the case had gone to trial.
Oriti’s death drew attention not only because of the 911 admission but because of the narrow window in which it happened. She had nearly completed the move and had returned only briefly, according to the account given to police. That detail became central to coverage of the case and to the way friends and reporters described the killing: a goodbye that turned fatal within minutes. Oriti was killed just days before her 27th birthday, according to Law and Crime’s review of the case. Public condolences posted online after her death described her as warm, funny and deeply loved. One friend wrote that she had many beautiful memories with Oriti and was heartbroken by her loss. Those personal tributes stood in sharp contrast to the grim evidence described in the arrest report and coroner’s findings.
The legal case moved steadily after Vanderhall’s arrest. He initially faced an open murder charge and was held without bail, according to earlier local coverage. On March 17, 2026, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a deadly weapon under an agreement negotiated with prosecutors, according to court records cited by local news reports. Under that deal, Vanderhall faces a minimum prison term of 10 years. Reports on the plea said the maximum outcome could reach 25 years or life, depending on the final sentence imposed by the judge. By pleading guilty, Vanderhall avoided a trial in which prosecutors would have had to prove the killing met the elements of a more serious murder charge. The plea also means there will likely be no public airing of full trial testimony from investigators, forensic experts and witnesses that could have added more detail to the public record.
What comes next is a sentencing hearing now scheduled for May 6, 2026. At that hearing, the court is expected to hear from prosecutors, defense lawyers and, potentially, members of Oriti’s family or others seeking to deliver victim-impact statements. A judge will then decide the final prison term within the bounds of the plea agreement. Sentencing hearings in homicide cases often include a fuller summary of the facts, along with arguments about remorse, criminal history, mental state and the lasting effect on the victim’s relatives and friends. It is not yet clear from public reporting what recommendation prosecutors will make or whether the defense will ask the court to weigh Vanderhall’s self-inflicted injuries and suicide attempt as part of mitigation. The hearing is also likely to mark the next major public update in a case that moved from emergency call to guilty plea in just over three months.
The scene that officers entered on Dec. 2 remains one of the starkest parts of the case. A condo in southeast Henderson became a homicide scene after what police described as a domestic incident. Outside, a friend who had been helping with a move was waiting for Oriti to come back out. Inside, investigators said, they found bloodied knives and a victim who did not survive. The man who called 911 was still there. That combination of details — a reported confession, a short and deadly encounter during a move and a guilty plea before trial — gave the case an unusual immediacy from the start. Even so, several questions remain outside public view, including what conversations took place before Oriti went back inside, whether there were warning signs that day and what exactly Vanderhall plans to say, if anything, when he stands before the judge for sentencing.
For now, the case stands at a late but not final stage. Vanderhall has admitted guilt, Oriti’s killing has been charged and the court is preparing for sentencing. The next milestone is May 6 in Clark County court, when a judge is expected to decide how many years Vanderhall will spend in prison for Oriti’s death.
Author note: Last updated April 16, 2026.