{"id":200825,"date":"2022-02-08T08:48:05","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T16:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=200825"},"modified":"2022-02-08T10:50:54","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T18:50:54","slug":"tulalip-resort-casino-washington-state-murder-case-dropped-defendant-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tulalip-resort-casino-washington-state-murder-case-dropped-defendant-released\/","title":{"rendered":"Tulalip Resort Casino Washington State Murder Case Dropped, Defendant Released"},"content":{"rendered":"

A murder defendant is now a free man after a Washington State charge was dropped last week because of lack of evidence. Hana Letoi<\/a>,35, of Tacoma, Wash., passed away after injuries at Tulalip Resort Casino on Oct. 23, 2020.<\/p>\n

\"Nomeneta
Nomeneta Tauave, 34, of Spanaway, Wash., in a mug shot, pictured above. A second-degree murder charge against him was dropped last week. (Image: Daily Advent<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her boyfriend, Nomeneta Tauave, now 34, of Spanaway, Wash., was arrested for second-degree murder. He was in custody on $1 million bond since his Oct. 26, 2020 apprehension.<\/p>\n

A criminal trial was supposed to start this month. But last week it was revealed that prosecutors were throwing in the towel. Tauave was released Thursday night from the Snohomish County Jail.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAt this time, there is insufficient evidence to prove the charged offenses beyond a reasonable doubt,\u201d Snohomish County Superior Court deputy prosecutor Toni Montgomery said in recent court documents quoted by The Daily Herald<\/em>, a Washington State media outlet.<\/p>\n

No Choice for Prosecutors<\/h2>\n

“We were left with no other choice,\u201d Prosecutor Adam Cornell concurred.<\/p>\n

I am certain that it is heartbreaking for the victim\u2019s family to have heard of our decision, and my heart goes out to them,” Cornell continued. “But we have an ethical obligation to not proceed in the prosecution of cases that we don\u2019t believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Based on initial evidence, Tauave allegedly grabbed Letoi\u2019s neck while the two were in the casino<\/a>. Tauave told police his girlfriend began to \u201cfuss\u201d while they were gambling, and her complaining continued when they went to leave. He claims she hit him first, and he retaliated.<\/p>\n

Abuse Accusations<\/h2>\n

On the day of the incident, the two later entered a silver GMC Yukon, which was parked outside of the gaming property. Tauave again allegedly grabbed her neck. He then shook her, prosecutors claimed. The SUV began to move forward, a passenger door opened, and Letoi fell outside onto the parking lot. There were one-time allegations that she was \u201cviolently removed\u201d from the Yukon.<\/p>\n

Tauave then sped away. He later denied he assaulted Letoi and said she appeared okay a short time later. But soon after the incident, she was transported to a local hospital. She died two days later.<\/strong><\/p>\n

An autopsy said she died of cardiac arrest from emotional distress following a physical altercation. Later toxicology results revealed she had methamphetamine in her body. She also suffered from heart disease.<\/p>\n

Letoi\u2019s family filed a civil lawsuit in Snohomish County Superior Court and in Tulalip Tribal Court. The litigation is against the casino\u2019s security officers, the Tulalip Tribes, and the Tulalip Resort Casino.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A murder defendant is now a free man after a Washington State charge was dropped last week because of lack of evidence. Hana Letoi,35, of Tacoma, Wash., passed away after injuries at Tulalip Resort Casino on Oct. 23, 2020. Her boyfriend, Nomeneta Tauave, now 34, of Spanaway, Wash., was arrested for second-degree murder. He was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":200828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTulalip Resort Casino Washington State Murder Case Dropped<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A murder defendant is now a free man after a Washington State charge was dropped. 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Hana Letoi died in 2020 after injuries at Tulalip Casino.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tulalip-resort-casino-washington-state-murder-case-dropped-defendant-released\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-08T16:48:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-08T18:50:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/defendant-daily-advent.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgedsilv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tulalip-resort-casino-washington-state-murder-case-dropped-defendant-released\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tulalip-resort-casino-washington-state-murder-case-dropped-defendant-released\/\",\"name\":\"Tulalip Resort Casino Washington State Murder Case Dropped\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tulalip-resort-casino-washington-state-murder-case-dropped-defendant-released\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/tulalip-resort-casino-washington-state-murder-case-dropped-defendant-released\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/defendant-daily-advent.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-08T16:48:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-08T18:50:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\"},\"description\":\"A murder defendant is now a free man after a Washington State charge was dropped. 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