Vegas great-grandmother, 71, shot dead by neighbor after she refused to stop sunbathing naked in her garden
LAS VEGAS: A 71-year-old great-grandmother was shot dead by her neighbor after she refused to stop sunbathing naked in her garden. On June 25, Mildred Olivo was gunned down at her home in Las Vegas along with her partner Timothy Hanson, 54, by their neighbor Andrew Cote. The suspect is said to have been involved in a long-standing feud with the grandmother and which included a row about her sunbathing habits. Neighbors said that Cote could be heard telling Olivo to "put on some clothes" as she lay in her garden naked.
Olivo refused to put clothes on and even snapped back at Cote that she was entitled to do as she pleased in her own yard. Since both Olivo and her neighbor's properties had low adjoining walls, it enabled both the victim and the suspect to look into each other's lawns. Olivo also allegedly used to throw loud parties where she would invite her friends over to dance. Cote made multiple noise complaints against Olivo but no action was ever taken against her. The victim's grandson Jose Roman said that Cote filed a restraining order in April this year, and is said to have begun filming her. As a result, she began to invite more friends over in a bid to protect herself.
"You’re free to do whatever it is that you want in your own privacy… What was this guy thinking? For him to have this issue with such an old woman. She’s a little old lady. I was raised to have respect: You respect your elders and you help the elderly, and you’re kind to the elderly. You don’t do something like this," Roman said, Metro reported.
Cote lived in the area with his wife and three children. He was the one who called police around 10 pm on June 25, telling them that he had shot Olivo and Hanson with a shotgun. After authorities arrived at the scene, they found both victims in the backyard with obvious trauma to the head. Both the victims were pronounced dead on the scene.
Investigators learned that the victim and the suspect had a spat earlier in the day after which Olivo reportedly sprayed Cote and his daughter with a hose. After that Cote had called the police but no action was taken against Olivo. Later that day, Hanson arrived at Olivo's house and started yelling at Cote from the backyard. During the argument, Cote said his daughter went into the backyard while he was inside, Fox5Vegas reported.
At some point, Cote grabbed a shotgun and went into his backyard toward the block wall dividing the properties. Using the firearm, the suspect shot Hanson and Olivo in the head, according to the police report. Cote said he shot Hanson a second time when he saw he was still moving.
Ahead of his next court hearing, Roman is being held without bail in Clark County Detention Center on two counts of open murder. Roman paid tribute to his grandmother by saying how she "made an impact through kindness." He added: "I feel like I was robbed. ‘It’s not a death that you were able to warm up to, and count the days and appreciate the last ones."