16-04-2025
Las Vegas sex worker charged for visitor's murder
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A sex worker faces a murder charge connected to a visitor's death in a Las Vegas Strip hotel room, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
Metro police arrested Heidi Warner, 23, on April 10 on second-degree murder and drug charges, records said.
In February 2024, a person called police to say she had not heard from her family member, Senaca Higley, 46, of Utah, who was staying at Caesars Palace, documents said. The person also reported $2,400 was withdrawn from Higley's bank account during the time of his disappearance.
Police suspect Higley died on the evening of Feb. 23, 2024, documents said. However, hotel security did not discover his body in the hotel room's bathroom until Feb. 25 with suspected fentanyl pills in a plastic bag nearby, documents said. The Clark County coroner's office later determined Higley died from fentanyl poisoning.
Higley, a father of a young child, also worked as an auctioneer, his obituary said.
Metro's forensic laboratory later tested the suspected fentanyl pills, documents said. The pills tested positive for fentanyl and acetaminophen.
Police reviewed video from the hotel, which showed Higley walking to his room with an unknown woman. The woman, whose face was partially covered with a sweatshirt and hood, was later recorded on video leaving the room alone, police said.
A family member later found a message on Higley's phone where he conversed with a woman, later identified as Warner, about buying Adderall, documents said. The woman later offered to sell Higley an illicit form of oxycodone.
Two weeks before Higley's death, Warner pleaded no contest to trespass in an unrelated case, records said. As part of her sentence, a Las Vegas Justice Court judge ordered her to stay away from the Las Vegas Strip for six months. Records show Warner completed the court-ordered requirements, however, her most recent arrest would indicate she actually violated the terms.
Metro police detained Warner in April 2024 on a prostitution-related charge in Downtown Las Vegas, documents said. During that arrest, investigators seized Warner's phone but they were unable to access its contents. However, a judge later authorized a search warrant of Warner's digital accounts.
In the account, police said they found Higley's contact information saved under the name of a different Strip property.
In August, police surveilled Warner outside of her apartment, noting she was wearing similar clothing to the woman in the video with Higley, documents said. It was not until April 10 that police arrested Warner for allegedly providing the pills that killed Higley.
During Warner's probable cause hearing on April 11, Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Daniel Westmeyer denied setting bail. On April 15, Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Amy Chelini set bail at $75,000, records said, after prosecutors asked for $150,000 and Warmer's attorney requested $10,000, records said.
Should Warner post bond, Chelini ordered her to wear a monitoring bracelet and stay away from the Strip.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 21.
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