Police in Las Vegas have been investigating the murder of Daniel Aldape, a 46-year-old homeless man, who was found in an empty lot at an intersection near the downtown. He had died of head trauma. The wounds suggested that he was killed while sleeping and struck with a hammer.
A month later, another homeless man, 60-year-old David Dunn, was found and again appeared to have been killed by a hammer while sleeping.
Police decided set a trap. Using a mannequin covered in blankets, they put the bait on a sidewalk not far from where Aldape was found. It only took a few hours before a man approached the mannequin with a hammer and bashed his faux skull in. The whole scene was captured on video tape.
Schindler, 30, was arrested and charged initially with one count of carrying a concealed weapon. Police have said that his attack on the mannequin showed “the intent to kill.” They say that Schindler admitted to kicking the body but said that he then knew that it was a mannequin before striking it. So the issue will come down to whether he attacked a mannequin or a man with intent.