Nevada man threw 2-month-old daughter from 2nd-floor balcony, set home on fire killing dog, charged with murder
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: On Saturday, October 24, a Las Vegas man was arrested after his two-month-old child was fatally injured when thrown off a second-floor apartment balcony during a domestic disturbance. According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police arrest affidavit, 32-year-old Clarence Edward Martin got into an argument with his daughter’s mother, Nicole Poole, early on Saturday. At some point, Martin allegedly got angry and threw the baby from a second-story balcony.
Following that, he set the apartment on fire saying, “Burn, b****, burn… this is what you get for cheating on me.” The fire reportedly killed the family dog. According to the police report, Poole said that she was woken at about 1 a.m. by Martin kicking her and the baby, who was sleeping with them in their bed. He kicked them onto the floor. When Poole got up with the baby and went to the living room, Martin took the baby from her and went out to the balcony. He came back inside empty-handed.
Poole, who immediately ran outside, found the baby on the ground below in the parking lot. She bolted downstairs and picked up her daughter and ran, thinking Martin was chasing her.
Sometime later, she called 911. A neighbor also came to help and they tried to revive the baby, but she had succumbed to her injuries -- according to the Clark County coroner, the cause of death was blunt force head trauma. By this time, Martin had left the scene. He drove off in a 2015 white Mercedes-Benz that belonged to Poole. But he got involved in two auto collisions en route to the Las Vegas airport, where he was eventually arrested.
At the McCarran International Airport, where he was trying to break into a secured area while not wearing a shirt, an employee questioned Martin. Reportedly, Martin then “crawled onto the baggage conveyor belt that entered into the secure area of the airport”.
After this, Martin reportedly managed to find a TSA Security shirt in a break room. According to the affidavit, however, he took off his pants. Another employee saw Martin loading items into an airport work van and alerted law enforcement, who tracked him down near the van. When police got to him, he was yelling, “Burn B****! Jeffreys Street, Jeffreys Street!” This was where he lived with Poole and his newborn daughter.
Police Lt. Ray Spencer told the media that Martin was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries from the crashes and for evaluation of drug use. Poole reportedly told the police that Martin had said that he’d had mental health issues when they started dating four years ago. While Poole said that she had never seen him have any problems, she also told police that he hadn’t eaten or slept in the last three days.
Reportedly, Martin missed his first court appearance because he was being held in a psychiatric ward at the Clark County Detention Center. Charges against Martin include open murder, first-degree arson, willful/malicious/torture and maiming of a cat, dog, or animal, and battery on a protected person.
A Go-Fund-Me has been set up to help Poole in the aftermath of the tragedy. It says, “We were completely blindsided and are still in shock this is even a reality… As you can imagine, her mother Nicole Poole is absolutely devastated. Please, please pray for healing and strength for Nicole and our entire family. Rest In Heaven our precious baby London. You will always hold a special place in all our hearts.”