Stephen Bartlett, a 35-year-old man, was found dead on October 4, 2021, in an abandoned building in the 6600 block of East Lake Mead Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada. The discovery was made by a friend who reported the body to the authorities. The Clark County coroner's office determined that Bartlett died from gunshot wounds to the torso.
The suspect in Bartlett's murder is Rosario Barajas, a 38-year-old woman.
According to the arrest report from the Metropolitan Police Department, Barajas told police that she shot Bartlett because she feared he was part of a cartel trying to kill her. She claimed that she had become paranoid that Bartlett was going to bring someone from a Mexican cartel to harm her. On the day of the incident, Barajas said she went to visit Bartlett at the abandoned building, hid in a loft above the entrance, and shot him as he approached the ladder to the loft. When Bartlett asked her why she shot him, she replied that it was because he was going to kill her.
Following the shooting of Bartlett, Barajas is believed to have committed another violent act. Hours later, she broke through a glass door at her mother's home in North Las Vegas and shot her mother. Barajas' step-father intervened, pinning her down until the police arrived and arrested her. During her statement to the police, Barajas exhibited erratic behavior, rambling and expressing beliefs that her family was attempting to give her children away to the Mexican mafia.
Barajas was arrested two days after Bartlett's body was found, although she did not agree to speak to authorities until November 2, 2021. Details on how she was identified prior to her arrest were heavily redacted from the police report. She was booked on charges of burglary, battery, and attempted murder in North Las Vegas. Additionally, she faces a murder charge in Las Vegas Justice Court for the death of Stephen Bartlett.
Due to her mental state, Barajas was hospitalized on November 5, 2021, to determine if she was competent to stand trial. It was later determined that she was not competent, and she was sent to a maximum-security psychiatric center.
