Lakeisha Holloway, who was accused of ramming her car into a sidewalk and through a crowd on the Las Vegas Strip in 2015, has reportedly been sentenced to 18 years to life in prison. According to reports, the woman in Nevada injured dozens and killed Jessica Valenzuela, a mother of three, who was on an anniversary trip with her husband. She had been in custody for over 10 years while she struggled with a delayed verdict and mental health.
According to 3News, Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones announced the verdict on Thursday. Holloway, who was 24 years old at the time, and has since changed her name to Paris Morton. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and causing harm to someone, both involving a deadly weapon.
Lakeisha Holloway, the Portland woman accused of intentionally ramming her car to kill and injure pedestrians on the Las Vegas strip, has had her trial indefinitely postponed. She was charged with murder and 70 other felony charges. https://t.co/PJlO4A8hZV pic.twitter.com/U8npdSnmC0
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) April 3, 2020
The judge took more than 10 years of already served time into account and also ordered $70,000 in compensation. The report further quotes Jones as saying, “The only thing I can say is, I hope that today, this closes a chapter for everybody who’s involved in this,” before she delivered the sentence.
Meanwhile, Valenzuela’s children appeared to attend the hearing, which was broadcast by the local NBC affiliate, KSNV. Jessica Valenzuela’s daughter, Layla Valenzuela, who was 8 years old at the time of the incident, got emotional while she recalled telling her siblings they would have Christmas together upon their parents’ return.
In memoriam: On December 20 Jessica Valenzuela was run over intentionally. Jessica was visiting a busy tourist area when Lakeisha Holloway, driving a car nearby with her toddler purposely drove onto the sidewalk & sped through the crowd. In an attack that authorities & several… pic.twitter.com/k2o5NgcWq7
— Dane (@UltraDane) December 20, 2023
She said, “I’ll never forget when my father walked through the garage, and we were so excited to see him. And I just kept asking him, Where’s mommy? Where’s mommy? I want to see her. Where is she?”
In addition, Layla’s sister, Giana Valenzuela, who was 9 years old then, also regretted never telling her mother a “goodbye,” thinking her mother would come back after the trip. She said, “I think about that a lot.” Giana said she made a Christmas gift for her mother, but she never got to watch the video the children made, which shared how much they missed their parents.
During the sentencing, Morton apologized for her wrongdoing and said, “Your pain, I have never taken for granted.” An emotional 35-year-old acknowledged that it meant a lot to Valenzuela’s daughters to experience the moment after 11 years.
She stated that, for all these years, she hadn’t wanted to say anything wrong, and no amount of apologies could make up for the harm caused. She expressed deep regret over the harm caused. “I feel like saying this statement and reading this statement to you is an injustice in itself. I’m so sorry for your pain,” she said.
According to Law & Crime, Morton’s case reportedly experienced years of delay because of mental health assessments and changes in her legal team. She was ruled unfit to stand trial in 2020, but after further evaluations at a state psychiatric facility, she was later found fit in 2021 and went on to plead guilty in August 2025.
A 2015 report by The Associated Press notes that Holloway’s 3-year-old daughter was inside the car when the incident occurred but the police said that the child was unharmed.
