The “Deadly Women: Cling ‘Til Death” series on Investigation Discovery centers on Vegas Bray, a former California Navy mechanic who has developed an obsession with her ex-boyfriend Victor Saucedo. Vegas pursued him after he broke up with her and damaged her property until he began to fear for her safety. When Vegas killed him in October 2012, his nightmares came true.
The investigative process that culminated in the police arrest is followed throughout the episode. We are here for you if you want to know more about this case. Who is this Vegas Bray, then? Let’s investigate.
Who is Vegas Bray?
Vegas Batallya Bray grew up in San Diego, California, where she was born in 1988. She was a talented, charming, and well-mannered student. She came from a broken home and had no father as a child, but she never let these issues show up in her grades; throughout high school, she had Aces. She was hired by the Army as a mechanic for the Navy after graduating. She met Victor C. Saucedo, another Navy sailor who was on a destroyer in Southern California there, and a brief romance developed between them.
They started dating in March 2011 after discovering they shared a dark sense of humor. However, there were obstacles in their relationship as an envious Vegas could not even allow Victor to speak with his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his child. By 2012, both had left the Navy; Victor enrolled in a nearby college to support his son, and Vegas started working as a cocktail server at a nightclub. By then, Victor had severed his relationship with Vegas, removed her from his Facebook friends list, and stopped returning calls.
For the next 10 months or so, the ex-lovers kept in touch on occasion even after their breakup. Vegas “broke” here, according to prosecutors and witnesses. She began following Victor and began stalking him, cutting his car tires, smashing bottles through glass, putting peanut butter on his front door, and other acts of vandalism. Victor had repeatedly reported them to the police, but no one was ever charged or detained.
Vegas said Victor was making efforts to redeem himself and even arranged to rent an apartment with her at his California resort a week before the murder. Police later discovered disturbing memos and a list of things she wanted to do on her devices, including buying guns and killing Victor and repeatedly abusing him. Vegas dropped by his residence on October 15, 2012, and they both had a drink. Vegas wanted to have breakfast the next morning after having sex. The straw that broke the camel’s back for her was when Victor refused.
She apparently spent the morning at the DMV with her brother, Santiago, because she was ashamed. On October 16, 2012, around 3 p.m., Victor’s neighbors claimed to have seen her enter her apartment and then heard a deluge of bullets. Victor was killed after being shot nine times with a firearm and hollow point ammunition by the woman before she herself dialed 911.
Where is Vegas Bray today?
Vegas was arrested and questioned, but she insisted she had passed out and was unaware of what had happened. She had been sexually abused for much of her childhood, and a psychiatrist identified her with sadness and PTSD. She was arrested and charged with Victor’s murder on April 24, 2013. But the judge decided that a psychiatric examination should be carried out after a nervous breakdown in court. The court determined that she was fit to stand trial after nearly three years of treatment.
Her trial began on October 15, 2015. On that fateful day in October 2012, her defense claimed that she suffered from “post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses”. On January 8, 2016, she was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison. In April 2017, she appealed the decision, but it was rejected. Vegas, 33, is currently being held at the Central California Women’s Facility in a jail cell, according to official court records. According to his prison record, Vegas will be eligible for parole in October 2036.
Woman who stalked and killed her ex-boyfriend gets 50 years to life in prison
A woman who was found guilty of taking part in what the prosecution described as ‘the ultimate act of obsession’ – stalking, harassing and shooting her ex – faces a prison sentence of 50 years to life.
When Vegas Bray, then 27, shot and killed her ex-boyfriend Victor Saucedo at his own Imperial Beach residence in 2012, she was charged with first-degree murder and a firearms allegation. Vegas Bray was convicted of those charges in November.
Bray was also required to pay $5,000 in restitution when she was sentenced on Friday. While other family members occupied the two rows of courtroom seats, Saucedo’s 9-year-old son sat outside the courthouse with a relative.
Tony Saucedo, Saucedo’s brother, reacted to Bray’s statement by saying, “Everything that was going to happen was going to happen.” Putting my brother here next to me or putting my brother here next to his son wouldn’t have made any difference.
He claimed that at first his father’s death upset his nephew, but now he is recovering.
Bray’s attorney urged the judge to consider that Bray had mental health issues, was abandoned by her mother, and was molested as a child. Jurors had the opportunity to consider this, the judge said, but chose to convict her nonetheless.
Bray performed the “ultimate act of obsession”, according to Assistant District Attorney Harrison Kennedy, when she broke into Saucedo’s apartment and shot him nine times with hollow point bullets.
In extra innings, the Padres leave the Dodgers.
Kennedy claimed that Bray fired several shots at Saucedo with a .38 revolver before having to reload.
After the incident, Bray was escorted to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department for questioning, but was quickly taken into custody.
Several of Saucedo’s friends said Bray was a former Navy sailor who worked at the “Little Darlings” adult cabaret in Lemon Grove.
Bray was calm but assured at her arraignment as she pleaded not guilty in front of more than a dozen of Saucedo’s friends and supporters. Many of those acquaintances described Bray as an unstable ex-girlfriend who, according to reports, stalked Saucedo for several months before his passing.
Saucedo, 28, had recently left the military and was supporting his then 7-year-old son, who spoke at a moving candle-lit memorial, while working and attending school.
His friends told NBC 7 that since their split about a year ago, he’s been having issues with Bray. Saucedo even changed apartments once in an attempt to get away from her.
She wouldn’t let him be alone. They separated. Zulema Reyes, the victim’s former fiancée, claimed in 2012 that she was unable to move on.
Kennedy agreed that Bray was trying to mend his relationship with Saucedo during a prep hearing.
Saucedo has repeatedly reported vandalism, the sheriff’s office said. Authorities have reviewed the calls, but no one has been arrested and no suspects have been named.
Reyes recalled the harm done to Saucedo’s house by eggs, paint, vinegar and jelly jars. She attributed the events to Bray.
Because he was a woman-talking guy, Saucedo believed authorities weren’t taking him seriously, according to his best pal Jeremiah Messenger. The Messenger continued, “They couldn’t do anything; there was no physical harm to him; no one else had seen it.
According to court records, she was arrested for grand larceny in 2007 after pleading no contest to a 2008 driving offense and a theft charge. So she paid a fine and participated in a shoplifting recovery program.
Reacting to the accusations against Bray, his mother earlier told NBC 7 that she was probably trying to defend herself and that, but for extremely desperate circumstances, she would never have committed such an act.