LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man facing the death penalty for a brutal Christmas 2016 killing will stand trial in Clark County for the third time in October after two trials ended without a verdict, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
Anthony Newton, 45, was arrested in early 2017, facing charges of the murder, dismembering and igniting the body of Ulysis “Cesar” Molina. Prosecutors say Newton killed Molina for revenge after Molina had a love affair with Newton’s then-wife while Newton was serving a prison sentence.
In Newton’s first trial in November 2024, Clark County District Court Judge Jacqueline Bluth declared a mistrial because the jury heard a witness testify about Newton serving prison time. While Bluth acknowledged that the information was not disclosed maliciously, she told attorneys, “I don’t know how to cure that.”
The second trial ended in a mistrial after jurors announced they were deadlocked in deciding Newton’s guilt. The jury deliberated for two full days. Bluth asked the jury foreperson whether the panel was able to make a decision on any of the charges against Newton – which include first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping with a deadly weapon. The foreperson indicated that one juror had told the other jurors further deliberation would be “pointless.”
Newton and his brother-in-law, police and prosecutors say, stuffed Molina’s body in a suitcase, took it to a home in east Las Vegas, and hacked up his torso. Newton later drove his remains to a vacant lot, doused it with gasoline, and set it on fire, they said.
But while Newton was awaiting trial at Clark County Detention Center, two years into his incarceration there, a homeowner in Henderson called police claiming she found a human hand in her mailbox. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed they could not provide an explanation, but police say the hand belonged to Molina.
At a hearing on Tuesday, Bluth set a trial date for Oct. 6, which will be Newton’s third time before a jury. If convicted, the judge will preside over a separate hearing during which the jury will decide whether to sentence Newton to death.
