Las Vegas beheading trial: Ex-porn star accused of driving with victim’s phone after murder

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The former adult film star accused of killing the father of her children drove with the victim’s cellphone to her Las Vegas residence after beheading him, a detective testified during in trial Monday.

Testimony continued for the fourth day Monday in murder trial against Devyn Michaels, 47. She is accused of killing 46-year-old Johnathan Willette on Aug. 7, 2023. Michaels allegedly beat Willette with a stick and then decapitated him, prosecutors said. Police then believe she poured chemicals over his body.

Michaels, who had two children with Johnathan Willette, later married Johnathan Willette’s son, making that man both her husband and essentially her stepson. Michaels, who last worked as a realtor, also uses the names Nikki Fairchild and Tracee Tavarez.

Michaels and Johnathan Willette never married and in the months before his murder, Johnathan Willette was granted full custody of their two children. To stabilize their lives, Johnathan Willette was in the process of moving in with Michaels.

Johnathan Willette lived in Henderson in a home he shared with his mother and her boyfriend. Michaels lived in the northwest valley.

Testimony on Monday focused on the timeline of events and phone and GPS data. Henderson police detectives played a taped interview with Michaels, where she said Johnathan Willette had recently asked her to marry.

Prosecutors allege Michaels killed Johnathan Willette sometime between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Michaels’ cellphone data puts her at the home around that time, but that data and data recorded on her car’s internal computer showed her leave around 2 a.m., detectives said.

On Friday, Johnathan Willette’s mother, Yoko Willette, told the jury she saw her son and Michaels together around 10 p.m. She said she woke up to a loud noise around 3 a.m.

Henderson Det. Luke Good showed the jury detailed phone records involving Michaels, Johnathan Willette and Michaels’ husband, Deviere Willette. The data showed Johnathan Willette’s phone moved with Michaels’ device on the ride from Johnathan Willette’s home to hers after the murder.

Michaels’ device and Johnathan Willette’s phone both ended up at Michaels’ home around 2:45 a.m., Good said.

Michaels’ two children later located the phone in her driveway and brought it to police, prosecutors said. The phone did not have any notifications or alerts, indicating someone had accessed it, detectives said Monday. It was cracked and also had blood on it.

Data from Michaels’ car and her phone showed she traveled back and forth between her home and the day of and after the murder.

Michaels is accused of taking Johnathan Willette’s head from the crime scene and driving it to her home in Las Vegas, where she threw it in the trash, documents said. The head was then likely picked up by a trash service, prosecutors said.

Michael’s defense attorney, Robert Draskovich, told the jury a different story last week, alleging Deviere Willette killed his father. Police never named Deviere Willette as a suspect and interviewed him several times, according to Wednesday’s testimony. On the stand Thursday, Deviere Willette denied killing his father.

According to Draskovich, Deviere Willette told police he and Michaels had a sexless marriage. Draskovich then showed the jury intimate photos and messages the pair shared dating back to 2016 when Deviere Willette was in his late teens.

In the days before Johnathan Willette’s murder, Michaels messaged Deviere Willette, calling him a “liar” and a “cheater” and asking for a divorce, Draskovich said.

No cellphone or video evidence puts Deviere Willette at the crime scene, Good relayed to the jury.

Police never located Johnathan Willette’s head nor a murder weapon.

The trial is paused on Tuesday for the Veterans Day holiday and will continue Wednesday.

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