Henderson police arrest suspect in decades-old homicide
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Over two decades after the death of a Henderson woman, police have arrested her alleged killer.
On Sept. 4, 2003, at around 2:15 p.m., Henderson Police and Fire Departments were called to the 200 block of Gold Street, near Water Street and East Lake Mead Boulevard, after a woman was found dead inside of home.
The woman, identified as 28-year-old Theresa Romano, died from sharp force trauma. Police ruled her death a homicide.
Now, 21 years later, Henderson detectives have arrested a man they said is accused of killing her.
The recently expanded Henderson Police Department Cold Case Unit used updated DNA testing and continued investigation to identify Ricky Lee Trader, 47, as the suspect in the homicide.
On July 16, Henderson detectives took Trader into custody in Reno Nevada, and booked him into the Washoe County Detention Center on a charge of open murder.
On July 22, Trader was extradited to the Henderson Detention Center. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 24.
Court records show a judge previously sentenced Trader to 10 to life on a second-degree murder charge in a different case. He was paroled in 2021.
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