Kelleen A. Cota, 57, was arrested on Thursday in Las Vegas on suspicion of murder
A woman has been arrested for murder in the shooting death of a Star Trek attraction actor four years ago, after the victim’s son discovered a bullet hidden in a table.
Kelleen A. Cota, 57, was arrested on Thursday in Las Vegas on suspicion of slaying Charles Thomas Deishley, 70, in his home in December 2013.
Police say Cota was part of a ring of scammers who swindled Deishley out of a million dollar inheritance.
Deishley, who played the Klingon General Motog for a decade at the Las Vegas Hilton’s ‘Star Trek: The Experience’ attraction, was shot in the head but no bullet was found at the scene.
In June, however, Deishely’s son was moving a plastic table and heard something rattle inside of it, leading to the discovery of the murder bullet.
Forensics linked that bullet to one registered to suspect, Cota, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Cota (not pictured) is accused of slaying Charles Thomas Deishley (left), who was shot dead at age 70 in his Las Vegas home in December of 2013
Deishley performed for a decade in Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton, portraying the Klingon General Motog
Deishley (seated right) is seen with fellow cast members on a replica of the bridge of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) at the Las Vegas attraction, which closed in 2008
Cota and two siblings, Janette Anais Martinez, 26, and James Anthony Martinez-Amador, 25, had previously been charged with racketeering, embezzlement, forgery, and grand larceny in an alleged financial extortion scene targeting Deishley, in an indictment that strongly linked them to the murder.
Police discovered Deishley’s body while performing a welfare check on December 9, 2013, after friends became concerned that they hadn’t heard from him.
Deishley had been shot in the head, and was found seated in an armchair with the TV on and a remote in his lap, police said.
Crime scene technicians did not recover a bullet from the scene, and no bullet was found during the autopsy.
During the course of the investigation into the alleged financial fraud, a police search recovered a .38 caliber handgun registered to Cota in Martinez-Amador’s house.
On June 22, Deishley’s son called police saying he’d discovered what appeared to be a bullet.
Cota was arrested on Thursday morning after a warrant was sworn out in the murder case
Deishley (right) was found dead seated in an armchair with the TV on and a remote in his lap
Forensic tests on the .38 caliber slug found that it was consistent with test rounds fired from Cota’s pistol, although damage to the murder bullet prevented a conclusive match, police said.
Cota and the two co-defendants in the embezzlement case are accused of coaxing Deishley into investing his million-dollar inheritance into fake investment schemes that they billed as investments in billboards, coins, gold and real estate.
Police say that Deishley began asking questions about his investments, and was shot shortly afterward.
Cota is currently being held without bail in the Clark County Detention Facility.
Deishley’s friends remembered him as a warm-hearted family man who loved portraying the Klingon warrior Motog for legions of fans who flocked to the Las Vegas live show.
‘You are missed my friend,’ one wrote on Facebook. ‘Rest in Sto’Vo’Kor where the honored live forever!’
Deishley’s friends remembered him as a warm-hearted family man who loved portraying the Klingon warrior Motog for legions of fans