LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man and woman face charges of open murder after an 86-year-old man was found dead near Mt. Charleston in 2018, Las Vegas Metropolitan police said.

Patrick Byrom, 41, and his girlfriend Kortny Payne, 45, face several charges including open murder and robbery with a deadly weapon in the murder of William “Bill” Ellis.

His body was found in the Carpenter Canyon, located near Mt. Charleston on Sept. 11, 2018. At the time of the discovery, police suspected foul play.

Due to the state the body was found in, scientific methods were used to help identify Ellis.

In 2021, police received the results that confirmed the body of Ellis. He had been reported missing on Sept. 26, 2018.

Homicide detectives were able to identify Byrom and Payne as the suspects in his murder after they discovered that Ellis had hired Payne to be his in-home caregiver starting in July 2018.

Byrom and Payne were located in Colorado, both serving sentences for an unrelated crime they committed in November 2018.

In May, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Byrom and Payne, they were both extradited from Colorado correctional facilities and taken to the Clark County Detention Center.

Byrom and Payne’s charges are listed below.

• Open murder with a deadly weapon involving an older person
• robbery with a deadly weapon involving an older person
• abuse of an older person resulting in death or substantial bodily harm
• conspiracy to commit robbery

Anyone with any information about this incident is urged to contact the LVMPD Homicide Section by phone at 702-828-3521, or by email at homicide@lvmpd.com. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 702-385-5555 or online.