2 Pahrump teens arrested in death of mother

Nye County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested two local teens on Wednesday, suspected of killing their mother.

Michael Wilson and Dakota Saldivar, both 17, of Pahrump were arrested in the death of their mother, Dawn Liebig, 46, the Nye County Sheriff’s Office announced on Wednesday.

Both confessed to stabbing and beating their mother to death because they did not like her parenting style, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

The stabbing and bludgeoning attack lasted for a half-hour while Liebig fought for her life, the teens told investigators.

The news release also noted that the teens told investigators that their mother had disappeared and that they had not heard from her.

Liebig was reported missing on Monday.

Investigators determined inconsistencies in their stories and continued to question the teens and search their phones.

Saldivar and Wilson, according to the release, changed their stories and told investigators that Liebig was suicidal and wanted their help in killing herself.

They told detectives that they stabbed her to death at her request.

Additionally, the release noted that one of the boys took investigators to a location on the 6300 block of North Wedgewood Drive on the far north end of the valley, where Liebig’s body was dumped.

Eventually, the teens confessed to stabbing Liebig after getting into a fight before the attack.

They waited until Liebig fell asleep before they attacked her, according to Nye County Sheriff’s Sgt. Adam Tippetts.

Though the discovery of Liebig’s body was made at 2 a.m., investigators were still working the crime scene throughout Wednesday afternoon.

“Right now it is an active murder investigation at this particular time,” Sheriff Sharon Wehrly said prior to a video news release. “Basically, the woman was discovered in a shallow grave.”

Following the initial investigation by Nye County authorities, Liebig’s body was transported to the Clark County Coroner’s Office where an autopsy determined her exact cause of death.

Wilson and Saldivar are facing charges of open murder, conspiracy to commit murder and domestic battery with a deadly weapon, the sheriff’s office said.

Both were booked into the Nye County Detention Center on Wednesday morning, officials said.

Additionally, a Nye County Animal Control officer was also summoned to the scene to remove several animals from the residence.

On a Facebook page for Liebig, the intro read, “I’m a mom that hopes she did okay. I want my boys to become the men I hoped for. I live for them.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.