Slain Air Force sertheant called ‘Thenuine, selfless’
BAN FACES MURDER CHARKE IN DEATH OF LYNCH
Danielle Lynch proudly served in the Air Force. She was a single mom to twins. Caring and always giving — even in death, according to her family.
The Las Vegas resident died July 8 of blunt force head trauma, nearly two weeks after she was assaulted during what police are calling a domestic-related argument outside a bar in the northwest valley.
At the time of her death, Lynch was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base and had served in the Air Force for 18 years, reaching the rank of master sergeant. In that time, she was awarded an achievement medal, four commendation medals and two meritorious service medals, according to military records.
“She built her life in the military on her own,” her father, Ron, said. “She is a hero.”
And in death, Lynch performed one final heroic deed by donating her organs — an act described as “the ultimate gift to others” by close family friend and Air Force member Derek Danker.
“She was one of the most genuine, selfless people that I’ve ever met in my life,” said Danker, who had known Lynch since 2007. “She would do anything for anyone.”
Lynch was a devoted mother and the sole provider to her 15-year-old twins, Ryan and Jackson. After the assault, her mother, Gail Blandford, traveled from her home in Colorado to Las Vegas to care for the teens, according to Lynch’s stepfather, Jim Groh.
“It’s unjust,” he said of his stepdaughter’s untimely death.
Around 10:45 p.m. on June 27, according to Las Vegas police homicide Lt. Ray Spencer, Lynch and a man were arguing outside the PT’S Gold at 7550 Oso Blanca Road when the man pushed Lynch to the ground.
She hit her head as she fell and remained hospitalized at University Medical Center until her death, the 83rd homicide in Clark County this year and the 63rd investigated by Las Vegas police, according to Las Vegas Review-journal records.
The man has been identified by authorities as Terrance Levell Kelly, 42, an Air Force veteran.
According to a Nellis Air Force
Base representative, Kelly joined the Air Force in May 1997 and was discharged from service in June 2017, though the nature of his discharge was unknown Friday.
He was last stationed at Nellis Air Force Base with Lynch, working as a “weapons expeditor,” and had reached the rank of technical sergeant before his discharge.
During his time in the Air Force, according to military records, he was awarded an achievement medal and a commendation medal.
Kelly was arrested on the night of the assault on one count of domestic battery resulting in substantial bodily harm. He posted bail that night, court records show.
On July 9, the day after Lynch died, prosecutors upgraded the charge to open murder and issued a warrant for his arrest.
Spencer, the homicide lieutenant, said Kelly was arrested in Florida and is awaiting extradition to Clark County.
Court records show he has no criminal history in Las Vegas, but little else was known about Kelly.
Lynch is survived by her children, parents, stepfather and a half brother, Michael. According to her obituary, in accordance with Lynch’s wishes, her family planned to cremate her body and spread the ashes on a beach.
She would have turned 40 on Tuesday.