An encounter between two people who met on a dating app resulted in a man’s death and an 18-year-old’s arrest on a murder charge, police say.
Emma Kusak, 18, made her first court appearance on Wednesday after being charged with open murder, robbery and grand larceny of a motor vehicle in connection with the June 29 shooting death of Charlie Satrustegui, 36, at the Luxor Hotel & Casino, KVVU reports.
A judge ordered that Kusak remain in custody without bond until an August 7 bail hearing.
The Las Vegas-Review Journal reports that the suspect told authorities that she and Satrustegui earlier met through the dating app Bumble, per Kusak’s arrest report,
Satrustegui, who is from Glendale, Calif., was visiting Las Vegas on June 28 and asked Kusak if she was available to hang out, according to the arrest report.
The two allegedly got alcohol and went to Satrustegui’s room at the Luxor that night to drink, the suspect told authorities, adding that during the encounter, Satrustegui showed Kusak his handgun, according to the arrest report, per KSNV.
Kusak said she grabbed the gun and fired after claiming Satrustegui was about to attack her following an argument, according to the arrest report, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
However, police disputed her version of the story and Kusak later allegedly said that Satrustegui was kicking her out of his room and that she was planning on robbing him, per the arrest report. Kusak allegedly said that Satrustegui was going for the gun when she allegedly shot him.
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The arrest report also states that Kusak allegedly stole Satrustegui’s car key, wallet and phones, KSNV reports. Before fleeing on the morning of June 29, she contacted authorities to report that she allegedly shot someone at the hotel.
“Emma said she didn’t mean to shoot him and didn’t want to shoot him, but she had nowhere to go and didn’t want to go back to jail. Emma said she impulsively shot Charlie,” the arrest report states.
Satrustegui’s body was found at the Luxor with a gunshot wound to his head, police say, KVVU reports.
At the time of the shooting, Kusak was 17 years old. She turned herself in to authorities on the afternoon of June 29.
KVVU reports that Kusak was booked at the Clark County Detention Center on July 26. She turned 18 that same day.
Kusak reportedly has a public defender representing her. PEOPLE was unable to reach her attorney, and it’s not clear if she has entered a plea.
PEOPLE contacted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for additional information.
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Source: HIS Education