Las Vegas man pleads guilty to murdering 2-year-old
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The man accused of killing a toddler and then burying his body entered a guilty plea in court Thursday, which could put him in prison for several decades.
Terrell Rhodes, 30, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and assault on a protected person with a deadly weapon. Rhodes admitted to murdering two-year-old Amari Nicholson, his girlfriend’s son, in May 2021.
Rhodes appeared in Clark County District Court on Thursday with defense attorney Robert Langford to enter his guilty plea, which stipulates a sentence of 20 years to life. Judge Jacqueline Bluth said while she does not have to go along with the plea deal, after speaking with attorneys, she intends to.
Bluth told Rhodes that he could face a life sentence for the murder charge and a sentence of 1-6 years for the assault charge. Attorneys can argue at sentencing about whether the charges should run concurrent or consecutive.
In a previous confession to Las Vegas Metro police, Rhodes admitted that he killed the boy at the Emerald Suites in the central valley near the Las Vegas Strip while the boy’s mother was out of town, according to detectives.
Rhodes said that after the child had urinated on himself, he hit Amari three or four times with his fist, the toddler appeared to turn blue and stopped breathing, detectives said.
Rhodes initially reported that a woman claiming to be a family member took the child, which spurred a community-wide search for nearly a week. Rhodes then admitted to investigators that he buried the boy near the Emerald Suites, the 8 News Now Investigators first reported. Detectives later found the body in a shallow grave.
Rhodes was initially charged with one count of first-degree murder for causing Nicholson’s death. He was also charged with two counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, and four counts of resisting a police officer with the use of a firearm after he grabbed a detective’s gun while being interviewed on May 11, 2021.
Rhodes was scheduled to be sentenced on July 30. He remained in the Clark County Detention Center as of Thursday. Rhodes has denied the 8 News Now Investigators’ repeated requests for an interview.
A sentence of 20 years to life would mean Rhodes would be eligible for parole in 2041, excluding time for any additional years added for the other charge.
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