Investigators confirm third victim in Washoe homicide case

Washoe Sheriff’s investigators Wednesday confirmed there is a third victim in last Friday’s Washoe Valley homicide.

The third victim was found in the home belonging to the Tucson man who owned the vehicle abandoned at the Leo Bingo Court home in Washoe Valley. Neither his name or the names of the two female victims have been released.

But a press release did identify the man believed to be the perpetrator of the crimes. Anthony Gustave Nelson was shot to death by police after an extended high-speed chase that went through Carson City and Lyon County and ended near Sand Mountain in Churchill County.

Nelson was released on probation from an Arizona prison June 2 after serving time on charges of sexual assault. Before that, he was convicted in Colorado of forgery.

In Arizona, police disclosed Nelson was in possession of property belonging to Quincy Gangwer, 32, who died in a suspected homicide in Tucson.

Police found Gangwer’s body at his home on Monday after Nevada authorities asked them to do a welfare check. Gangwer was last seen alive on June 9 — four days before the deaths of the two Nevada women, who were 68 and 70.

Washoe County investigators have asked anyone who can help determine where the stolen white Nissan was between Nelson’s release from prison and the Friday shooting to contact them.

One victim, a 70-year-old woman, was dead inside the home, the cause described as “sharp force injuries.”

The second woman, 68, was shot to death when she and her husband approached the home to check on the resident. Her husband was wounded before the suspect fled in a white Jeep belonging to the homeowner.

After leaving the Washoe Valley home, Nelson drove through Carson City where his vehicle was seen by sheriff’s deputies. They chased him at high speed for miles up U.S. 50 before finally stopping the car near Sand Mountain east of Fallon — a distance of some 50 miles.

Investigators have not established a motive for any of the killings or any clear connection between Nelson and any of the victims, Kuzanek said.

“That’s part of the puzzle we are trying to put together,” Kuzanek told reporters. “It’s very early in a very complicated investigation.”

Four Carson City deputies and three Nevada state troopers have been placed on routine administrative leave while Reno police investigate the officer-involved shooting.

Washoe County is investigating the homicide.

Authorities in Arizona initiated an arrest warrant for Nelson the day after he met with his probation officer because he apparently had disabled the GPS tracking device he was issued as a condition of his release.

Kuzanek said Gangwer also was a convicted sexual offender.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.