Court denies appeal of man convicted in beating death

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a Henderson man sentenced to life for the beating death of his 88-year-old mother.

Richard Kravetz was convicted in 2014 of first-degree murder, battering resulting in substantial bodily harm and two counts of abuse or neglect of an older person.

Sarah Kravetz was taken to a hospital in November 2009 with a serious head wound. She died weeks later.

Before her death, the Henderson woman was able to tell another son, Russell Taylor, that Richard Kravetz had beaten her, according to court records.

Taylor testified against Richard Kravetz at trial.

A three-judge panel of the high court rejected claims by attorneys for Richard Kravetz that Clark County District Judge David Barker erred by admitting evidence of prior bad acts, and that evidence was insufficient to convict him.

During the penalty phase, prosecutors told jurors that Kravetz had a history of domestic violence and other convictions.

The Supreme Court said Kravetz failed to object to a majority of the evidence at trial and therefore waived his objections on appeal. The order also said the evidence of prior bad acts constituted only a small portion of the prosecution’s case.

“In light of the strong evidence against Kravetz, our review of the record reveals that any error on the part of the district court was harmless,” the justices said.

The order filed Wednesday was signed by Chief Justice Michael Cherry and Justices Michael Douglas and Mark Gibbons.