LAS VEGAS — A Las Vegas woman was sentenced Friday to 10 to 25 years in prison for killing a nail salon manager with a vehicle while trying to skip out on a $35 manicure. Krystal Whipple in December pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, admitting she killed Nhu “Annie” Ngoc Nguyen, a 51-year-old mother of three from Garden Grove, in December 2018.
#WANTED! A suspect in the homicide that occurred outside of a nail salon on Dec 29, 2018 has been identified as Krystal Whipple.
Anyone w/info on her whereabouts is urged to call #LVMPD Homicide Section at 702-828-3521 or @CrimeStoppersNV at 702-385-5555. pic.twitter.com/p9TFMoTfTi— LVMPD (@LVMPD) January 3, 2019
Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones sentenced Whipple, whose plea allowed her to avoid trial on felony murder, burglary, robbery and stolen vehicle charges.
Police said Whipple, 23, tried to pay for her manicure with a fraudulent credit card before telling Nguyen that she was going to her car to get cash.
Nguyen and her boyfriend followed Whipple into the parking lot, where Nguyen was struck and dragged by a black Chevrolet Camaro driven by Whipple. Police later said the car had been stolen from a rental agency.
Authorities said Whipple fled to Boulder City and then Los Angeles before surrendering to police in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona, almost two weeks after Nguyen’s death.
KRYSTAL WHIPPLE, now in custody. On Monday, I spoke with her cousin — who urged Whipple to turn herself in. After her arrest today, we hear from her cousin again — who once again offered her condolences to the victim’s family. @News3LV pic.twitter.com/Csp9j717m0
— Max Darrow (@MaxNews3LV) January 12, 2019
