A 12-year-old Dayton girl was orphaned Thursday after her father killed her mother, then turned the gun on himself in a North Carson City parking lot.
"This guy, in the squeeze of a trigger, destroyed masses of (people)," said Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong.
Just before 11 a.m., officers were called to the 3700 block of North Carson Street on the report of a shooting. Once there, they discovered the bodies of Regina Clements, 37, and her ex-husband, Richard Clements, 51, in the parking lot next to Port-of-Subs.
"He shot her in the back and she fell face down into the parking lot, and then he stood over her and shot her again." said witness Darwin Hicks, who was getting into his car when the shooting took place. Hicks said he watched as Richard Clements looked around nervously, then quickly raised the gun to his own head and pulled the trigger. Dozens of people witnessed the shooting, which happened just feet from the doorway to Silver State Charter High School.
Officers recovered a .357 magnum at Richard Clements' feet.
It's unclear why the couple, who were divorced in January, were at the parking lot together or what prompted the fatal showdown.
Two of Richard Clements' co-workers, at Ken Die Cutting Supplies Inc., Tiffany Manning and her daughter, Denim Estrada, happened upon the scene on their lunch break.
They immediately recognized Clements' brand-new Toyota Avalon and his ex-wife's Jeep Cherokee surrounded by crime-scene tape, then they spotted the bodies on the ground, said Manning.
"He just left work. He got a phone call, got up and just left," said a stunned Manning, who hugged her sobbing daughter.
Manning said Clements' recent divorce put a strain on him, but he had made every effort to stay close to his home in Dayton so the couple could have joint custody of their daughter.
"He told me just yesterday he was concerned (Regina) would take away custody," said Ken Die owner, D.J. Kengott, who was called to the scene by Manning. "He said his ex-wife was trying to turn his daughter against him. He was upset about it, but not to the extent that he would do this."
Kengott said Clements worked at Ken Die as an engineer for the last 11 years.
Since the divorce both Regina and Richard had gotten involved in other relationships and there didn't seem to be a problem about that, he said.
According to Detective Bob Motamenpour, Regina, an employee of state Parole and Probation, was planning on getting married in June and her boyfriend and his 11-year-old son had recently moved into her Dayton home. Detective Dave LeGros said Richard was in the process of buying a house, had discussed marriage with his girlfriend who was going to move in with him, and the two were planning a vacation.
Manning said the shooting left the couple's daughter alone.
"She has no family now. There's nobody here for her," she said.
Furlong and Detective Dena Lacy went to Dayton to collect the girl, who was at home during spring break with the boyfriend's 11-year-old son. They took the children back to the Sheriff's Department, where Regina's fiance broke the news.
Because Regina's boyfriend has no legal rights to the girl, there was a concern she could end up in foster care, said Furlong.
"What might be the right thing, which is letting her stay in her house, may not be the legal thing," he said. "She becomes a ward of the state until family can be found. I do not envy the Division of Child and Family Services."
He said about 7 p.m., after a plea from child protective services, Carson City District Judge Bill Maddox signed an emergency order granting temporary custody to the fiance.
"For right now, at home is the best place for that little girl," Furlong said. "She told me she wanted to go home."
He said there is no blood relative to the girl within hundreds of miles.
Coroner Ruth Beseler said Richard Clements' sister was contacted in Oregon and she is expected in Carson City today.
"He was just a real good guy. Real friendly. No temper. I don't think I've ever seen him to the point of even yelling," Kengott said. "Nothing, absolutely nothing, told us this would happen."
