An acquaintance called the police to report that they heard Journell Ng’s dog barking in the background call, prior to hearing a slapping noise that sounded like a gunshot.
A Nevada woman has been charged with the murder of her husband, who she allegedly shot to death while he was on a live video-game chat and then tried to make it look like an accident, telling police that “he may have shot himself,” a report said.
Emily Ikuta, 37, is charged with one count of murder in the death of her husband, Journell Ng, 36, according to an arrest report obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Ng was on a video chat when the incident took place. An acquaintance called the police to tell them they heard Ng’s dog barking in the background, prior to hearing a slapping noise they believe sounded like a gunshot. They then heard a yelping sound, followed by silence, police wrote, according to the Review-Journal.
A second witness, a neighbor, told investigators they heard the couple arguing loudly before the gunfire, the Daily News reported.
The incident took place on March 22 at 11 a.m. at the couple’s apartment on the 9000 block of West Katie Avenue near South Hualapia Way, ABC13 News-KTVN reported.
Ikuta, who allegedly called 911, told dispatchers that she had returned from walking her dog to find Ng collapsed on the floor, face-down and struggling to breathe. She said that it appeared he had been shot, according to the report.
In a later interview, Ikuta told detectives that her husband may have accidentally shot himself while cleaning his gun, adding that she had found a gun near his body and locked it in a closet, the Review-Journal reported.
Investigators found gun-cleaning supplies, but they didn't appear to have been in use, a report said.
Police concluded that Ikuta’s story had many discrepancies and did not line up with the evidence they had found. They said the trajectory of the bullet also did not appear to match where the bullet would have likely struck Ng had he been cleaning the weapon as Ikuta claimed, police said, KTVN reported.
"Below the body of (Ng) there was no large pooling of blood that was expected had (Ng) been found face down, as Ikuta stated she had found him,” police said in the report, the Review-Journal reported.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office told Inside Edition Digital that the cause and manner of his death are still pending.
According to Ikuta's LinkedIn page, she attended the Art Institute of CA-SF and was currently a senior manager for a marketing company, a position she had held since August of 2020.
Ikuta is scheduled to appear in court on April 8, the Daily News reported.
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