A Nevada man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the horrific torture and murder of another man because of unsubstantiated allegations that the victim had abused a child, which police determined were baseless, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
Earlier this week, a jury convicted 39-year-old Brad Mehn of first-degree murder and kidnapping with a deadly weapon in connection with the death of 27-year-old Roy Jaggers.
Jaggers’ body was found in Cathedral Canyon, about 60 miles from Las Vegas, on August 1, 2021.
Authorities alleged that two other people also played a role in the killing: Mehn’s former girlfriend, Heather Pate, and her current boyfriend, Kevin Dent, both of whom took plea deals for second-degree murder last month.
Investigators said Jaggers was lured to a Las Vegas home, where he was handcuffed, beaten, and wrapped inside a tarp.
The trio then drove Jaggers outside of the city and tortured him with various instruments including knives, a blow torch, a stapler, a belt, and an ax. They then forced him to strip and walk off a cliff, after which he was shot to death, according to KTNV-TV.
The attack was reportedly prompted because of an allegation against Jaggers that he had abused Pate’s son. However, the Nye County Sheriff’s Office determined there was no evidence to support the allegation.
Jaggers was a neighbor of Pate who often watched her children.
On Thursday, the jury sentenced Mehn to life in prison without parole for the murder charge. He is expected to be sentenced again in August on charges of torture and firearms violations.
During the hearing, Jaggers’ sister read a statement in court pleading that Mehn be given the maximum sentence.
“Roy Thomas Jaggers wanted to live so bad, he endured and took everything you did to him! And when you kicked him off the cliff he still ran to make sure that he fought every moment for his life until you shot him in the back like the coward you are,” the sister said, according to KTNV-TV.
“The only permanent thing in life is death and you chose to end my innocent brother’s life for absolutely no reason other than for your own enjoyment! All I can do now is hope and pray that your last day of freedom was the day you took my brother’s.”
Pate and Dent are scheduled to be sentenced in June.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode:
[Featured image: Roy Jaggers/Handout]
