Nevada man charged with murder in death of Naomi Irion, who was missing for more than two weeks
By Paradise Afshar and Claudia Dominguez, CNN
A Nevada man was charged with murder Tuesday in the death of an 18-year-old woman whose body was found last week after she disappeared in mid-March, court documents show.
Naomi Irion was last seen March 12 around 5 a.m. in a Walmart parking lot in the Lyon County town of Fernley — about 35 miles east of Reno — when she was abducted, according to officials. Her body was found March 29 in a neighboring county.
Troy Driver, 41, of Fallon, has been charged with murder, according to an amended criminal complaint filed Tuesday in the Justice Court of Canal Township in Lyon County. Driver was also charged with first-degree kidnapping, robbery, burglary of a motor vehicle and destruction of evidence.
According to the complaint, Driver kidnapped and shot Irion, then buried her body in an attempt to conceal his crime. Driver also hid or destroyed Irion’s cellphone and disposed of the tires on his truck, the complaint states.
CNN has reached out to Driver’s attorney multiple times for comment.
Driver’s arraignment and bail hearing is scheduled for Friday, according to court documents.
He has been in custody since March 25, according to authorities.
Irion’s body was recovered March 29 in a remote part of Churchill County after authorities received a tip related to her disappearance, the Churchill County and Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement last week. Churchill County is just east of Lyon County.
The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and confirmed the body was Irion’s, the statement said.
According to surveillance video, a man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, dark pants or jeans and dark tennis shoes approached Irion’s car at 5:24 a.m. on March 12.
Detective Erik Kusmerz at the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said. Irion’s car was found near the Walmart three days later.
Irion’s sister, Tamara Cartwright, told CNN that Irion worked at Panasonic Energy of North America and was waiting to take a shuttle to work from Walmart.
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CNN’s Amir Vera and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.
