Shaila Hernandez was a fourteen year old living in Nevada when she would fatally stab fourteen year old Chloe Edwards
According to court documents Shaila Hernandez and Chloe Edwards were involved in an argument at a home and the two would agree to a fist fight at Hernandez home
During the fight Shaila Hernandez would pull out a knife and stabbed Chloe Edwards. Edwards would be rushed to her home where she would die from her injuries
Shaila Hernandez would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to fifty years in prison. Hernandez is the youngest female to be convicted of murder in Nevada’s history
Shaila Hernandez Case
A judge has handed down a sentence for a 15-year-old girl who pleaded guilty to a challenge to fight charge that resulted in death.
Shaila Hernandez-Rivas was sentenced to 50 years with parole eligibility after 20 years.
Shaila Hernandez-Rivas was convicted of stabbing and killing Chloe Edwards, who was a student at North Valleys High School.
Court documents from the Washoe County District Attorney reveal that the two teens agreed to a fight. At one point, the DA says Hernandez-Rivas pulled out a knife and stabbed Edwards.
Before the fight, Hernandez-Rivas and Edwards had been exchanging negative text messages after Hernandez-Rivas made a comment about Edwards at a party. In the texts, the two girls agreed to a physical fight at Hernandez-Rivas’ home
During the fight, Hernandez-Rivas pulled out a knife and swung at Edwards three times, hitting her once in the chest and puncturing her heart and left lung.
Edwards’ sister and friend drove her back home where her mother and paramedics attempted to save her but were unsuccessful.
When Reno Police officers arrived at Hernandez-Rivas’ home, they were able to find video surveillance footage and cell phone recordings of the fight.
Hernandez-Rivas pleaded guilty in December.
Herandez -Rivas’ public defender asked the court for a 50-year sentence with the possibility of parole after 13 years.
The victim’s sister said, during her statement in court, “I don’t want revenge, just justice and peace. I hope you see where I’m coming from and the life I now have to live because of your actions. I hope you realize the damage you’ve caused and take that into consideration.”
Shaila Hernandez News
There was no leniency in the sentence for Shaila Hernandez-Rivas, a 15-year-old Reno girl who pleaded guilty as an adult to killing a classmate last year.
Both girls, North Valleys High School students, had agreed to meet and fight.
Shaila walked out of her house with a knife in her back pocket. Seconds into the fight she stabbed Chloe.
The defense argued that because of Shaila’s age, troubled background, depression and anxiety that she should be eligible for a 35 percent reduction in either a mandatory 50-year or life sentence.
Judge Kathleen Drakulich didn’t reduce Shaila’s sentence, instead sending her to prison for 50 years, with parole eligibility after 20 years.
Shaila will be 34 before she could be released. The court allowed the year she spent in juvenile detention since the Feb. 19, 2023, killing to count toward the sentence.
Deputy District Attorney Travis Lucia said videos of the fight showed Shaila wasn’t acting in self-defense when she fatally stabbed Chloe Edwards, 14.
Lucia said the defense’s claim that Shaila was just trying to defend herself wasn’t an accurate description of what the judge saw in the videos, which were not shown in court.
Chloe’s family made statements, addressing comments to Shaila.
Sister Alexis Lepp talked about the little sister she lost.
“I hate the fact that my photos are limited,” she said. “I only have so many pics of her when I should have my whole lifetime to be taking more with her.”
Lepp said when people ask her if she is doing OK after Chloe’s death, she just says yes.
“What else am I supposed to say to them? I’m not OK. The day you killed her, you killed all of us inside.”
Chloe’s mom Stephanie Speelman told Shaila she did not forgive her.
“I will never understand why you hated Chloe so much?”
Before reading the sentence, Drakulich told the room filled with friends and family of both teens that the facts in the case were never disputed.
“Why is that? Because we have video of what happened here. It’s astounding to this court that we have video of what happened here,” she said.
She implored those in the courtroom to act rather than record if something like this happened again.
“Please, don’t take video,” she said. “Stop it.”
Shaila Hernandez More News
The 15-year-old girl who pled guilty to killing another local teen, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. Shaila Hernandez (dob 4/22/08) will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years. Hernandez was 14 when she killed Chloe Edwards, also 14, during a fight on February 19th, 2023. Hernandez pled guilty to Challenge to Fight, Resulting in Death with the Use of a Deadly Weapon, which carries the same penalty as First Degree Murder.
Prior to the incident, the two had been exchanging negative messages after Hernandez had made a comment about Edwards at a party. During the text exchange, the pair agreed to a physical fight at Hernandez’s home. Edwards, her sister, and a friend arrived, with Hernandez, her brother, and the brother’s girlfriend present. The two girls argued briefly before the fight became physical.
During the fight, Hernandez pulled a knife and attempted to stab Edwards three times, striking the victim in the upper left chest, puncturing her heart and left lung. Edwards then ran back to her car, yelling about Hernandez having a blade. As the group drove away, Edward’s lost consciousness and 9-1-1 was called. The group drove back to Edward’s home, where the mother and then paramedics attempted life-saving measures. However, the teen succumbed to her injuries.
When officers with the Reno Police Department arrived at the Hernandez home, they recovered video surveillance footage from the surrounding area, as well as cell phone recordings of the fight. In an interview with police, Hernandez said that before she went outside to confront Edwards, she grabbed one of her brother’s knives, as she didn’t know if the victim would be armed or not.
At sentencing, several of Edwards family members provided victim impact statements, including her sister Alexis. Speaking directly to Hernandez, Alexis shared how the loss of Chloe continues to impact her and her family.
“I don’t want revenge, just justice and peace,” said Alexis during her statement in court. “Shaila, I hope you see where I’m coming from and the life I now have to live because of your actions. I hope you realize the damage you’ve caused and take that into consideration.”
Deputy District Attorney Travis Lucia argued for a sentence of life, saying that the brutality of Hernandez’s conduct outweighed any mitigating effects of her age, and that countless juveniles are impulsive in their actions and never come close to committing a crime as horrific as this one.
The Honorable Judge Kathleen Drakulich presided and imposed the sentence of 50 years.
