UNLV student's killer receives life sentence | Murder cases

Shortly before the man who raped and killed her sister was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday, Rachel Davis recalled how the siblings shared everything, even meals at restaurants.

“When Paula was murdered, I lost the other half of myself,” Davis said in the courtroom Thursday morning.

According to police, Giovanni Ruiz shot and raped Paula Davis, a 19-year-old UNLV student, on September 6, 2019. Davis had been trying to break up with Ruiz for days and sent a final farewell text message the morning of the incident, according to her family.

After Paula Davis failed to show up for a 1 p.m. class at UNLV that day, her parents reported her missing. Two hours later, her father, Sean Davis, tracked her phone to a North Las Vegas park and found her dead in the family van.

“When I found Paula's lifeless, naked body in a van, it was as if someone had ripped me in half,” Sean Davis said tearfully in court.

Ruiz, 26, pleaded guilty on June 4 to first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and sexual abuse with a deadly weapon. As part of the deal, he agreed to a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 42 years. If he is ever released on parole, Ruiz will be required to serve life-long supervision and register as a sex offender.

“Never be the same again”

At Ruiz's sentencing Thursday morning, Paula Davis' grandparents, parents and sister called her a “child of God,”She brought joy and kindness into their lives. Davis volunteered at Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada and studied business and entrepreneurship at UNLV. After graduating, she wanted to be an FBI agent, her father said in the courtroom.

As the family spoke, prosecutor Michael Shwartzer held up a photograph of Paula Davis, which her father said was taken at a Harry Potter festival in Oregon just a month before her death.

“The bullets that took her life also went through our hearts, and our hearts will never be the same again,” her grandfather Michael Trzebiatowski said in the courtroom.

He gave copies of his granddaughter's artwork to Judge Tierra Jones. She often made personalized artwork for family members, Trzebiatowski said.

Davis' grandmother, Barbara Trzebiatowski, recalled her love of singing and dancing and said she would often cry when she heard the song “You are Mine.” The family has a video of Paula Davis singing at age four. It was played at her funeral.

“I pray that she sings and dances with the angels,” her grandmother said.

Paula Davis' mother, Kara Davis, described her daughter as the kindest person she had ever met. She described what she felt as an unusual desire to wear her daughter's clothes after her death.

Sean Davis said the trauma still haunted him.

“The sound of a particular police siren or the view through a car window can still take my breath away and instantly transport me back to that night,” he told the court.

“When I check the whereabouts of a family member and they are not exactly where I thought they would be, I have to remind myself to stay calm and suppress the panic,” he continued. “When my younger daughter tells me about her new boyfriend, I have to remind myself to be trusting and reasonable.”

'I am so sorry'

As He confronted The Judge with be Head down, A surgical mask above be Face, Ruiz said “There Are NO Words The may express My Remorse.”

While there was no excuse for his actions, he said, his diagnosis of severe autism and paranoid personality disorder influenced his behavior.

Refer To Paula Davis, Ruiz told The Courtroom The He Hopes He may “somehow earn The Right To have her out of Heaven, at The very the least, hold The Words I repeat To her many just everyone Tag: I am Excuse me. I am So Excuse me.”

Ruiz kept his head down and his body turned away from the family throughout the hearing, but appeared to shake and cry several times while speaking. When he left the courtroom, he appeared to have his eyes closed and turned his head away from the Davis family.

Ruiz's lawyer Gabe Grasso called the case “an all-around tragic situation.”

Grasso highlighted Ruiz's intelligence and said it was a shame it was lost. He noted that Ruiz had written his statement himself the night before and memorized it for his testimony in court. He added that during Ruiz's time in prison, Grasso sent him Japanese books and Ruiz learned Japanese.

Paula Davis' parents asked the judge to do her part to ensure Ruiz does not harm anyone else. Sean Davis, who cited his faith, added that he was glad Ruiz no longer faces the death penalty.

The judge thanked the family for the opportunity to get to know Paula Davis a little.

“I really hope that you find closure today. But I wish today was the end of this tragedy, the end of your suffering, but unfortunately that is not the case. I am very, very impressed by how you have stuck together to get through this explosive situation and by the realization that you have brought today,” she said.

Contact Katie Futterman at [email protected].