After 25 years, killer pleads guilty

Victim also was raped; DNA led to her assailant

They waited and wept. More than 25 years after 7-year-old Diana Hernandez was raped and killed, a 47-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday to related charges.

Diana’s mother, Maria Samano; sister Estela Hernandez; and twin, Adriana Morales, sat nearby and watched with tears in their eyes.

“We weren’t ready to hear all this,” Samano said. “I wasn’t ready. I know it was going to happen, but you’re never ready.”

Diana’s family had waited 15 years before DNA and fingerprint evidence led to Gregory Wallen’s arrest.

In April 1994, as their mother paid rent at their apartment complex near Maryland Parkway and Flamingo Road, the twins ran outside. Diana raced off and was never again seen alive.

“Just look at me,” Samano said. “That’s what he took away. She could have been here with me.”

Police found Diana’s nude, lifeless body in a cardboard box in a complex trash bin a day after she disappeared. She had been raped, beaten

sive inspection and recertification process. As always, the safety of our guests is among our top concerns.”

The woman, who is in her mid-20s to early 30s, was ejected from her seat on El Loco, which goes up to 44 mph, sometime between

2:29 p.m. and 2:35 p.m., according to a prohibited-use notice placed on the ride after her fall.

She was taken to a hospital that afternoon, but neither Clark County nor MGM Resorts International has released details regarding the woman’s condition.

According to MGM Resorts spokesman Brian Ahern, all Adventuredome ride operators were put through “an extensive retraining and recertification process” following the incident.

In addition, revised ride safety disclaimers have been posted in several areas “for increased public view” based on the ride’s updated operation manual. Resort officials on Monday did not further elaborate on the updates.

Rides within Clark County are typically inspected annually by an approved third-party company; that’s in addition to any unannounced inspections that may be conducted throughout the year by the Clark County Department of Building Fire Prevention.

But since the woman’s fall, MGM Resorts also has expanded its inspection schedule; they’re now done daily, according to Ahern.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.

Michael Blackshire Las Vegas Review-journal Gregory Wallen, right, listens to attorneys Julia Murray and Scott Coffee during his court hearing Monday at the Regional Justice Center. He pleaded guilty to the 1994 murder and sexual assault of 7-year-old Diana Hernandez.

L.E. Baskow Las Vegas Review-journal @Left_eye_images An empty car on the El Loco roller coaster inside the Circus Circus Adventuredome is being tested without riders on Monday, but the ride will reopen Monday.