A Las Vegas woman has been charged with murder after she fatally shot her boyfriend while he was taking pictures of her posing with a gun.
Allysandra Blea, aged 20, was apprehended on August 26, facing charges of open murder using a deadly weapon in relation to a shooting on August 23, as per the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Police were called to the scene just before 5 a.m. that morning and found Mark Gaughan, 23, dead on the scene.
Although Blea asserted that the shooting happened accidentally, investigators uncovered social media messages where she expressed a desire to “shoot people with real guns and escape the consequences,” according to an arrest report mentioned by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Detectives noted in their report that “Allysandra’s online presence indicated a keen interest in guns,” observing conversations where she frequently discussed her enthusiasm for shooting, possessing firearms, assembling her collection, and fantasies about shooting people in the face.
Further investigation revealed numerous images of Blea posing with various guns, occasionally pointing them at either her own head or that of stuffed animals. Additionally, she reportedly wrote about “killing prostitutes” and individuals residing in underground tunnels, and sports a “bullseye target” tattoo on her chest.
The police report detailed that Blea, along with Maverick Crafts, Gavin Fitzpatrick, and her boyfriend, Gaughan, had been drinking since around midnight on August 23. Fitzpatrick informed the investigators that for safety, he had disarmed the gun, which was Gaughan’s, by “removing the magazine, emptying the chamber, and securing the slide back.” He placed the gun and magazine on a table before he dozed off on the couch.
After he fell asleep, Blea, Crafts, and Gaughan took the gun outside the take photos.
“Maverick recalled seeing Allysandra sitting on her lap holding the firearm while Mark was taking pictures, with the flash going off,” the report stated. “Maverick additionally noticed another flash, followed by Allysandra aiming the firearm at Mark. Although she didn’t see Allysandra pull the trigger, she did hear the gun discharge.”
Fitzpatrick said he was awakened by the sound of Crafts and Blea screaming and ran outside.
Crafts also told police that Fitzpatrick had taken the magazine out of the gun “for safety reasons,” police said, adding that Gaughan “must have” reassembled the weapon when she and Blea went into the bedroom to change clothes for the photos.
Both Fitzpatrick and Crafts said that Blea and Gaughan seemed happy together and they had no knowledge of any fights.
According to the police report, Blea told investigators that she’d “never taken any firearm safety courses and believed the firearem didn’t have a bullet in the chamber,” KLAS reported.
“She was adamant that she did not intentionally kill Mark,” the report said.
An Instagram post from the talent agency TNG said that Gaughan had worked as a model under the name “Santiago.”
Blea has been ordered held without bail and will return to court on October 2, KSNV reported.
