The Legal Beat

Law School Student Charged With Murder
Posted on Monday July 19, 2021

Justin Medof (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

Last week, Las Vegas police arrested Justin Medof and charged him with one count of open murder with a deadly weapon in the death of his girlfriend, Stephanie Duarte, after responding to Medof’s 911 call. Medof claims that he called for help after awakening to find his girlfriend “beaten, bloody and unconscious” and was attempting CPR when authorities arrived. However, police say Duarte appeared to have died of blunt force trauma hours before.

According to tipsters and Medof’s own social media, he’s a Chapman Fowler School of Law student in the class of 2022.

Local Vegas media reports that Medof told police that the pair had gotten into a disagreement on Fremont Street. They arrived back at the hotel separately around two in the morning and guests reported sounds consistent with a loud fight for the next hour.

Medof is being held without bail. He is scheduled to appear in court again on August 2.

California man charged in death of girlfriend at central Las Vegas Valley motel [Fox 5 Vegas]
Man accused of beating girlfriend to death told police he woke to find her ‘beaten, bloody and unconscious’ [8 News Now]

Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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