LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The woman accused of killing 76-year-old UNLV professor Leroy Pelton in December 2016 has been extradited from Peru.
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An arrest warrant was issued in January 2017 for the arrest of Rita Colon, who was reportedly Pelton's girlfriend at the time of his death. She was arrested on Dec. 18, 2017.
The extradition was approved and completed on Oct. 31, 2019, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshal's Office. Henderson detectives took Colon into custody upon arrival and she was booked into the Henderson Detention Center on the charge of open murder with a deadly weapon.
It is also believed that Colon killed her husband 11 years before Pelton's death. She is also facing murder charges for his death.
The arrest report for Colon reveals that Pelton had more than $1 million in a retirement fund at the time of his death. The company that oversees the fund told police they received several phone calls from a Hispanic woman pretending to be a man. Colon's friend later told police that Colon was making the phone calls.
Prosecutors in Nevada agreed not to seek the death penalty in exchange for custody of Colon.
