Maurice Vanderhall pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a deadly weapon in the killing of Kennedi Oriti.

HENDERSON, Nev. — A 28-year-old Henderson man who admitted killing his girlfriend as she moved out of their shared condo is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to second-degree murder with a deadly weapon.

Maurice Vanderhall’s March 17 plea moved the case out of a trial track and into a punishment phase in Clark County District Court. The victim, 26-year-old Kennedi Oriti, was found dead Dec. 2 inside a condo in the 200 block of West Horizon Ridge Parkway, police and court records show. The next major decision belongs to a judge, who is scheduled to sentence Vanderhall on May 6.

The plea closed one part of a case that began with a call to police around 6:30 p.m. on a Tuesday night. Henderson officers were sent to the complex after Vanderhall reported that he had killed his girlfriend and was trying to harm himself. When police arrived, they found Oriti with multiple knife wounds to her face and neck. Vanderhall was covered in blood and taken into custody. “I killed my girlfriend,” he told police, according to accounts of the arrest report and 911 call.

Investigators said Oriti had been moving out of the condo she shared with Vanderhall before the attack. A family friend told police he had been helping her carry belongings out of the home and into a vehicle. After the move appeared to be nearly finished, the friend said, Oriti went back inside alone to check whether anything had been left behind and to say goodbye to Vanderhall. The friend waited outside, then tried to reach her several times when she did not return. Those calls went unanswered.

The arrest report described a violent scene inside the residence. Police said Oriti had been stabbed about 20 times, with wounds focused on her face and neck. Some reports described defensive wounds, a sign that investigators believed she tried to protect herself during the attack. Officers also found three blood-covered knives in the condo, including a butcher knife. Vanderhall told investigators he stabbed himself several times in the forearm and knee and also tried to hang himself in a closet after the attack.

The guilty plea was to second-degree murder with a deadly weapon, a charge that carries severe prison exposure under Nevada law. Reports on the plea agreement said Vanderhall faces at least 10 years in prison, with the sentence possibly reaching 25 years or life depending on the judge’s decision. The deadly weapon allegation is central to the punishment because Nevada law allows extra prison time when a weapon is used in the commission of a felony. That added time is considered at sentencing rather than during a separate trial now that the plea has been entered.

The case stands apart from many homicide prosecutions because the basic act was not denied after police arrived. Vanderhall’s reported statement to authorities became a key fact from the start, but the court process still required a formal plea, a factual basis and a sentencing hearing. Prosecutors are expected to present the impact of Oriti’s death and the facts of the killing. The defense may argue for a lower term within the allowed range. The judge will have to weigh the plea, the violence described in the records, the use of knives and any statements from family or friends.

Oriti was killed five days before her 27th birthday. On an online obituary page, a friend remembered her through photos from a Las Vegas group trip taken only weeks before the stabbing. “I have so many beautiful memories with Kennedi and my heart breaks knowing she is gone,” the friend wrote. “I watched her grow so much. I was and am so proud of her.” The tribute gave the public record a personal frame beyond the arrest report, showing Oriti as a friend whose recent memories were still fresh when the case entered court.

The location of the killing also shaped the early police response. The condo complex sits near West Horizon Ridge Parkway and Eastern Avenue, about 17 miles southwest of Las Vegas. Officers did not report a search for an outside suspect after Vanderhall’s admission and arrest. The friend’s account gave police a timeline from the moving process to the unanswered calls. The weapons found inside the condo and Vanderhall’s injuries added physical evidence to a case that prosecutors later resolved with a plea.

The May 6 sentencing is now the case’s next public milestone. Vanderhall remains the convicted defendant after admitting guilt, and Oriti remains the named victim at the center of the hearing. The judge’s sentence will determine whether the punishment is measured closer to the plea’s minimum term or toward a far longer prison sentence.

Author note: Last updated April 28, 2026.