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Woman Who Killed Las Vegas Salon Manager While Trying To Skip Out On $35 Manicure Bill Sentenced To Prison
“This is just absolutely horrifying that someone lost their life just trying to work and provide services to someone,” the judge said while handing down a sentence of 10 to 25 years.
A Nevada woman who ran over and killed a salon manager in 2018 while trying to skip out on a $35 manicure bill has been sentenced to prison.
Krystal Whipple, 23, was sentenced Friday to 10 to 25 years behind bars after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of 51-year-old Nhu “Annie” Ngoc Nguyen, according to a Nevada Circuit Court.
Whipple ran Nguyen down in a stolen black Camaro in the Crystal Nails & Spa parking lot on Dec. 29, 2018 after she had tried to pay for her $35 manicure using a fraudulent credit card, according to the Associated Press. Whipple claimed she was going to get cash from her car to pay for her freshly painted nails but then tried to drive away. Nguyen ran out to the parking lot to try to stop her, but was run over and killed.
Surveillance video would later show Nguyen running in front of the vehicle before Whipple allegedly accelerated and ran her over, dragging her body for 50 feet, local station KVVU reported.
Whipple was arrested by the FBI Phoenix Violent Crime Task Force in Arizona in January 2019, according to police records. She agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in the case in late 2020. The plea allowed her to avoid trial on felony murder, burglary, robbery and stolen vehicle charges, the AP reported.
District Judge Tierra Jones described Whipple’s actions as “nothing short of a tragedy,” while handing down her sentence Friday, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“This is just absolutely horrifying that someone lost their life just trying to work and provide services to someone,” Jones said.
Nguyen’s daughter, Crystal Le, described her mother to the court as a woman who valued quality time with her family and had been a devoted single mother. She often worked at the salon, where she served as the manager, seven days a week.
“She was the epitome of selflessness and always assumed responsibility as the head of the household,” Le said. “My greatest regret is not being able to take off that baggage for her and to make her proud of what I’ve accomplished through her. My achievements are her achievements, and I want her to know that her efforts were not wasted.”
Whipple did not address the court during her sentencing, the newspaper reported.
