LockJaw Arts murder
The LockJaw Arts murder was a murder which took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, involving Tonya R. Dillard and Jacob T. Berkovitz, two furries who collaborated together under the label LockJaw Arts.[1]
Contents
LockJaw Arts[edit]
- Tonya R. Dillard - An artist and fursuit maker known in the furry fandom by several names, also known as Vincent Vex Dillard or just Vincent or Vex, Vincent Voltage, Voltage-X, Volty, LockJaw,[2] Biocidal, SushiOtter, and BlackCraftWitch.
- Jacob T. Berkovitz - A furry fan also known in the fandom as Jax or Luna.
The murder[edit]
According to police, in March 2020, Dillard and Berkovitz concocted a plan to post a dating ad on Craigslist[3] to lure a person, rob and kill whoever answered,[4] then take his car and go live in the woods.
Hector Mendez-Hernandez responded to the ad and picked up Dillard and Berkovitz on March 27. He then took them to his residence and once inside the home, Hector was robbed and then shot about 4 times, at least twice in the head, stabbed at least 25 times in the upper torso, and beaten with a dumbbell, allegedly by Berkovitz, until his death in the bathroom.[5] At this time, Dillard was injured by the gunfire on his hand.[5]
A friend, Paige Ferguson, claimed Dillard contacted her and revealed that he and Berkovitz had killed and skinned a dog. When the friend called out Dillard’s disturbing behavior, Dillard allegedly responded:
| If you think that is strange, I am sitting next to a dead body.[6] |
Dillard then told her that they had committed the murder and sent a picture of the body,[7] indicating that they were planning to hide the body in California.[5] The friend contacted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, who investigated. Dillard and Berkowitz were seen leaving the house when authorities arrived at the scene and were taken into custody.[4]
The pair were charged with murder with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery.[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ "LockJawArts is run by @Blackcraftwitch and their partner Jax/Luna" - profile on the LockJaw Arts page on Twitter. Retrieved March 30 2020.
- ↑ Name: Vincent/Vex/Volty/LockJaw(...) post on Twitter. Dated May 29 2019. Retrieved March 29 2020.
- ↑ Couple uses Craigslist sex ad to lure victim, shoots & fatally bludgeons him with dumbbells: Report article on Crimeonline.com. Retrieved Aril 6, 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Vegas PD: Man robbed, killed by couple after responding to dating ad" article on ktnv.com. Dated March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "2 arrested, man found shot to death in northeast valley home" article on Review Journal. Dated March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
- ↑ Police report: Couple lured murder victim, wanted to escape to the woods article on ktnv.com. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
- ↑ "Tip leads to investigation, arrest of murder suspects" article on News Now. Dated March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020.