×

Ex-Officer Arrested In Murder Of Warren Native

Nadia Iverson, a 1995 graduate of Youngsville High School, was 20 years old when she was killed. Submitted photo

WARREN, Pa. — It took almost 21 years, but an arrest has been made in the Las Vegas murder of a Pittsfield native.

Nadia Iverson, a 1995 graduate of Youngsville High School, was 20 years old when she was killed.

Her body was found on May 8, 1997, in a public housing complex that was undergoing renovation.

She died of a gunshot wound to the head.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Arthur L. Sewall Jr., a former officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, was arrested and charged with murder and sexual assault on Jan. 11.

Sewall was not an officer at the time Iverson was killed. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sewall resigned in March 1997 after he was arrested a month earlier and accused of forcing women to perform sex acts on him while he was on duty.

His eventual sentencing from that arrest included submission of a DNA sample.

Evidence from the 1997 scene of Iverson’s murder was not processed immediately.

“Her rape kit wasn’t sent for testing until March 2016,” according to the Review-Journal. “Hers was among the nearly 6,500 untested kits that had accumulated in Southern Nevada from 1985 through 2014. Metro said a 2015 grant from the New York County district attorney’s office funded the testing of her kit.

The results of the test came back in 2017 and the DNA matched Sewall’s, according to the Review-Journal.

A .357 bullet was found at the scene, according to the Review-Journal. Sewall had registered a .357 revolver with police. San Diego police took and eventually destroyed that weapon after Sewall was arrested there.

Sewall was questioned by police on Jan. 11.

Details from the arrest warrant executed on Jan. 12 were published in the Review-Journal.

“During the interview, he admitted to engaging Iverson in sex for money. During their sexual encounter, Iverson was shot. Sewall couldn’t account for why his gun was out or pointed at Iverson. He knew she was shot in the head and he immediately fled the scene.”

A preliminary hearing is set in March.

Starting at $3.50/week.

Subscribe Today