New Insights Emerge on Cuban Woman's Murder by Partner in Las Vegas

Las Vegas authorities have released a police report that sheds fresh light on the events leading up to and surrounding the fatal stabbing of Yaimara Leyva-Cadet by her partner, Cuban doctor José Emilio Galán Preval.

The report, accessed by local media outlet KTNV, details the scene inside the rented room where the couple lived with other Cuban residents. What started as a seemingly ordinary argument escalated into a horrific act of violence.

According to the homeowner's testimony, Galán Preval asked Yaimara to cook rice while they were in the living room. She refused, leading to Galán Preval briefly leaving the room and returning with a knife. The homeowner recalls seeing blood as the attack unfolded and hearing Yaimara's screams for help.

The homeowner’s son confirmed that he heard the cries for help from his room. Upon entering the living room, he found Galán Preval wielding a knife and Yaimara gravely injured. He and his father managed to disarm Galán Preval and attempted to assist Yaimara.

Yaimara was rushed to Sunrise Hospital, but tragically succumbed to her injuries shortly after, having suffered multiple wounds to her face and back.

Before fleeing through the back door, the assailant left behind a statement that stands as an early confession: "I am responsible for what I did," the police report states. He then escaped in a vehicle registered to the victim.

Later, police apprehended Galán Preval in a desert area east of Las Vegas after he called emergency services, expressing suicidal intentions. He eventually surrendered without resistance.

During his interview with detectives, Galán Preval admitted that their relationship was fraught with jealousy and conflict. He claimed that the previous night, Yaimara had demanded to inspect his phone, suspecting infidelity.

The following morning, after breakfast, he took a knife from the kitchen and attacked her, claiming he "lost control of his emotions."

The report also highlights that both Galán Preval and Yaimara had emigrated from Cuba together and shared similar immigration statuses, isolated from family and support networks.

As the legal proceedings continue in Las Vegas, with the accused held without bail, the grief in Cuba remains undiminished. Yaimara's family and friends have described her death as an unhealable wound. "She was deeply loved; everyone adored her," shared a close friend with Telemundo Las Vegas.

From another perspective of mourning, a cousin of the accused spoke of the overwhelming anguish affecting both families. "It's an unimaginable pain we feel. There's a victim, and no one expected this from him," she expressed tearfully, acknowledging the widespread suffering.

Yaimara, remembered by those who knew her, was a healthcare professional who had worked in Cuba and dreamed of rebuilding her life away from the island. Her name now resonates not only through the violence that took her life but also through the void left in two Cuban families distanced by the sea and united by tragedy.