FAMILY’S PLEA: TURN YOURSELF IN
and her tone grew stern.
“Please turn yourself in, Erik,” she said. “You won’t be able to hide all your life; sooner or later they’re going to find you.”
The Palacios and the Rangels had known each other for the past 15 years, but it was only a passing friendship with most communication involving the alleged killer’s mother. Aracely Palacio said she’d never spoken to Rangel-ibarra, whom his daughter only knew from talking to him occasionally.
The day of her disappearance, Lesly had agreed to meet Rangel-ibarra at a casino near her east Las Vegas home. Surveillance video from the business broadcast by TV news shows them eating and then leaving the property in the man’s pickup truck.
Lesly, and the father and son, were reported missing soon after. A week before her body was found, Metro said detectives suspected foul play and declared the men as suspects.
A campaign online seeking #justiceforleslypalacio quickly took off, and they conducted a march and a fundraiser, passing out pamphlets of how the men might look like with face coverings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said at the time that detectives were exploring the possibility that the suspects fled to Mexico, where they have family, suggesting federal authorities were collaborating.
Public attention to the case waned, but Lesly’s death continued in the forefront of her loved ones.
“Not a day” has gone by when they don’t think about her; “everything” reminds them of her, Lesly’s teenage sister, Kaly Palacio, said Monday.
In September, speaking from their home, which had a shrine dedicated to Lesly inside and a growing public memorial outside, the Palacios spoke about Lesly, reminiscing about the past.
Lesly, a Basic High School graduate who was studying to be a phlebotomist, most wanted for her sisters to go to college and her mother to stop working long hours cleaning hotel rooms.
She’d just helped her mother start a cleaning business she’d promised to help with on her time off. The day she disappeared, she surprised her mother with a name: “Cleaning Service Palacio.”
They thought better days were ahead. All they hope for now is justice, and peace of mind.
Markarian had only known the Palacios
briefly before the tragedy. The bond has grown.
“I couldn’t imagine being in their position and going through what they’re going through and feeling what they’re feeling by losing their child,” the attorney said, crying. “They’re strong, they’re very strong, I know they’re going to pull it together, and I know we’re going to be very strong together to make sure that there is some kind of closure and justice in this case.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Metro at 702-828-3521 or via email at homicide@lvmpd.com. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or online at crimestoppesrofnv.com.