In Nevada, Anthony Newton was convicted after earlier juries failed to resolve the killing of Ulyses “Cesar” Molina.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A Clark County judge sentenced Anthony Newton to life without parole after a murder case that included a mistrial, a deadlocked jury and a conviction nearly a decade after Ulyses “Cesar” Molina was killed.
The sentence marked the final major ruling against Newton, 46, in the 2016 killing and dismemberment of Molina. Jurors convicted Newton in February 2026 of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and first-degree kidnapping. Prosecutors said Newton killed Molina over a relationship Molina had with Newton’s wife while Newton was in prison.
The case began with a Christmas 2016 confrontation and ended in a May 2026 sentencing hearing at the Regional Justice Center. Prosecutors said Newton and his brother-in-law, George Malaperdas, restrained Molina at an apartment before Newton crushed Molina’s neck with his foot. Court documents said a witness saw Newton apply pressure to Molina’s neck until Molina stopped moving. “This is about a deep-seated hatred,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Bill Flinn said during a February court hearing. “It was about disrespect.” Prosecutors told jurors the killing was not a sudden accident but a planned act of revenge.
Molina’s body was found Dec. 28, 2016, in a vacant lot in northeast Las Vegas. Investigators recovered burned and dismembered remains, including a torso and legs. DNA testing later confirmed the remains belonged to Molina. Police did not recover his head. A separate and unexplained discovery came in 2018, when a Henderson woman found a human hand in her mailbox. Police identified it as Molina’s hand. Prosecutors said the state could not explain how the hand reached that mailbox, but they argued the evidence of the killing, restraint and disposal still pointed to Newton.
Newton, Malaperdas and Kelsea Wray Glass were charged in the case after investigators traced Molina’s final movements to an apartment. Earlier reports said Glass was accused of helping lure Molina there. Malaperdas said he was called to the apartment by Newton and arrived to find Newton with a revolver and Molina on the floor, according to court documents. The records said Malaperdas helped tie Molina and later assisted after Molina died. Malaperdas pleaded guilty in 2020 to second-degree murder. Glass also entered a guilty plea, though some details were filed under seal.
The first trial did not last to a verdict. In 2024, District Judge Jacqueline Bluth declared a mistrial after a witness told jurors Newton had been in prison. The reference mattered because Newton’s prison history was tied to both the motive theory and concerns about unfair prejudice. At the next trial, jurors could not agree. The case returned again in 2026, and prosecutors narrowed their presentation around the apartment setup, the restraint, the fatal neck pressure and the remains found later. This time, jurors convicted Newton on the major counts.
Newton had once faced the death penalty. Before the final conviction led to sentencing, attorneys and prosecutors moved away from a capital punishment phase. That left Bluth to choose among prison terms allowed after the verdict. Newton’s defense had raised issues over trial evidence, motive testimony and the long procedural history. Prosecutors pressed for the harshest available punishment, pointing to the killing, the dismemberment, the scattered remains and Newton’s earlier conviction in a separate homicide case from 1996.
At the sentencing hearing, Bluth addressed Newton’s background but said the court had to consider the risk of future harm. Newton had served prison time for killing Deborah Harvey in Henderson when he was a teenager and had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in that case. Family members connected to Harvey and Molina attended the hearing. Molina’s sister, Celina Gonzalez, told the judge that her brother mattered to his family despite his flaws. “My brother wasn’t perfect, but to me, he was a great brother,” Gonzalez said. Her statement came before Bluth ordered Newton to spend the rest of his life in prison.
The case remains active for at least one co-defendant. Malaperdas is scheduled to be sentenced June 16. His guilty plea to second-degree murder makes his hearing the next major step in the case. Glass’s plea placed her in a separate procedural track. The public record still leaves several unanswered points, including what happened to Molina’s head and how the hand found in Henderson was moved there long after the killing.
For now, Newton is serving a life-without-parole sentence in Molina’s murder. The court’s next scheduled milestone is Malaperdas’ June 16 sentencing, when another person tied to the 2016 apartment attack is expected to learn his punishment.
Author note: Last updated May 26, 2026.