Matthew Matt Christensen, a 24-year-old Caucasian male, was working a part-time job at Lee's Discount Liquor on West Warm Springs Road in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the night of April 18, 2016. He was saving money to buy a car and had recently been hired for a full-time position as a property inspector. Christensen was known by his family and friends for his bright smile and his love for pop culture, including superhero movies and the TV show "Game of Thrones."
That evening, three men entered
the liquor store with the intent to rob it. Two of the men were armed with handguns. The situation escalated when the robbers demanded that Christensen open the store's safe. Christensen, however, did not have access to it. His pregnant manager, who was in another part of the store, was the one who could open it, a fact that he did not reveal to the assailants in an act that his family later described as an effort to protect her. Frustrated that they could not get into the safe, one of the men shot Christensen. Authorities later stated that he had his hands in the air and did not resist when he was killed "execution style".
The investigation into the murder led to the identification of three suspects: Ray Charles "Ray Ray" Brown and brothers Lee Dominic Sykes and Lee Murray Sykes. Surveillance footage from the store played a crucial role in identifying the perpetrators. Brown was accused of being the gunman who fired the fatal shots.
In the subsequent legal proceedings, all three men were brought to justice for their roles in the robbery and murder of Matthew Christensen. Lee Dominic Sykes pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 25 to 65 years in prison. His brother, Lee Murray Sykes, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and robbery, receiving a sentence of 15 to 40 years. Ray Charles Brown, the man identified as the shooter, was found guilty of nine charges, including murder with a deadly weapon, first-degree kidnapping, and robbery.
