A Pennsylvania man who was once the target of a murder-for-hire plot was arrested Tuesday at a Las Vegas casino after his 26-year-old girlfriend was found dead in her home. This is because authorities believe he was prepared to flee the casino. we.
Arthur Eugene Gatti Jr. is facing charges of murder and aggravated assault in connection with the death of his wife, Franyalis Nicoled “Nicole” Zambrano Briceno, who died from “gunshot wounds to vital parts of her body.” He has been indicted. According to W.T.A.E.
Zambrano's co-workers at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort reported him missing in Farmington, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 24, but the housekeeper did not show up for work for several days, the newspaper added.
Uniontown police began investigating Zambrano's disappearance last Friday after they were unable to contact him during a welfare check at his home.
“During the course of the investigation, we received more information and followed up on all of them,” said Lt. Thomas Korencik of the Uniontown Police Department. “With the help of some forensic evidence and some technology, we were able to confirm a search warrant on the home (Monday), where we discovered the victim's body.”
Zambrano was found Monday in the bedroom of the home he shared with Gati, and police recovered a .357 magnum revolver in a separate room.
Gati was named as the first and only suspect in the case after investigators became alert to him after speaking with the man and issued a warrant for his arrest on Monday.
“He could not describe his wife's whereabouts. The information he gave us was not accurate,” Korencik added.
Gati had left the Pennsylvania town days before his wife was reported missing, telling neighbors he was traveling cross-country with Zambrano.
“He disappeared three days before Christmas and we don't know where he went or what he was doing,” Bob Luyck told WTAE, adding that neighbors told him about the phone call with the murder suspect. He said he remembered it.
“I said, 'Art, where are you?'” But we didn't know Nicole yet, so he said, “I'm in Kansas and I'm going to the Grand Canyon.” Ta. He said he was going to the Grand Canyon,” Luik recalled.
Police arrested Gati on Tuesday while he was eating breakfast at the Mardi Gras Hotel and Casino.
Gati was carrying about $100,000 in cash when he was arrested, as authorities believed he was preparing to leave the United States.
“It's an obvious murder. And he obviously didn't want to come to court to talk to us,” Fayette County District Attorney Mike Orbell said. told KDKA-TV. “We think he was heading out of the country with a large amount of cash and was trying to avoid responsibility for what happened here. So there is definitely a level of ruthlessness here. I can say it.
A photo taken by Las Vegas police showed Gati sitting outside in handcuffs with a cigarette dangling from his mouth after his arrest at a casino.
Zambrano was Gati's second marriage after his ex-wife tried to hire a hitman to kill him in 2019.
Roxanne Gati was arrested in 2019 after offering a hitman a split of $50,000 in life insurance proceeds to kill her husband, who co-owned a Marathon gas station. WTAE reported at the time.
She was sentenced on a misdemeanor charge and is being held in the Fayette County Jail, the newspaper said.
Gati is scheduled to appear before a fugitive judge Thursday morning, according to court records.
