Sins & Survivors: A Las Vegas True Crime Podcast - The Murder of Tabatha Tozzi

Episode Date: April 8, 2025

Tabatha Tozzi was a rising star in Las Vegas. When she tried to leave her controlling boyfriend, he allegedly killed her. Nearly two years later, he’s still missing.Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world, with A-list performers lighting up the strip every night of the week. In clubs all over town, large and small, every night is a party, and your hosts work hard to keep the drinks flowing and to make sure you feel like a VIP. For one Las Vegas model and entertainer, her boyfriend’s admiration quickly became obsession and jealousy. An argument after a night out turned deadly, and Tabatha’s loved ones have been searching for justice ever since. Tabatha's story is another tragic tale of domestic violence in Las Vegas. In this episode, the pursuit of justice takes center stage. https://sinspod.co/73sourceshttps://sinspod.co/73blog Domestic Violence Resourceshttp://sinspod.co/resourcesClick here to become a member of our Patreon!https://sinspod.co/patreonVisit and join our Patreon now and access our ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content & schwag! Get ad-free access for only $1 a month or ad-free and bonus episodes for $3 a monthApple Podcast Subscriptionshttps://sinspod.co/appleWe're now offering premium membership benefits on Apple Podcast Subscriptions! On your mobile deviceLet us know what you think about the episodehttps://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2248640/open_sms Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sins-survivors-a-las-vegas-true-crime-podcast--6173686/support.

To listen ad-free, visit Zinspod.co slash subscribe. Starting at $2.99 a month, you'll also get access to our exclusive bonus content episodes when you join through Patreon or Apple subscriptions. Thanks for supporting the show. Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world, with A-list performers lighting up the strip every night of the week. In clubs all over town, large and small, every night is a party, and your hosts work hard to keep the drinks flowing and to make sure you feel like a VIP.

For one Las Vegas model and entertainer, her boyfriend's admiration quickly became obsession and jealousy. An argument after a night out turned deadly, and Tabitha's loved ones have been searching for justice ever since. Tabitha's story is another tragic tale of domestic violence here in Las Vegas. In this episode, the pursuit of justice takes center stage. Hi, and welcome to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast where we focus on cases that deal with domestic violence, as well as missing persons and unsolved cases. I'm your host, Sean. And I'm your co-host, John.

It's been nearly two years since Tabitha Tazi was murdered. In that time, her friends and family have been working diligently to keep her story in the public eye. They've called attention to the alarming number of domestic violence homicides in Las Vegas. By August of 2023, it was reported that domestic violence homicides were up 85% in Las Vegas from 2022. And we've often talked about how Las Vegas ranks in the top 10 for domestic violence homicide rates. Do you want to start us off? Sure. As the second anniversary of Tabitha Tazi's murder approaches, we again want to highlight her case. She was murdered by her boyfriend, Oswaldo Nathaniel Perez Sanchez, in April of 2023.

Tabitha was born on June 21, 1996, making her 26 when she was murdered. According to her mom's Instagram, she was born in Japan, but we also found some sources that said she was originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Regardless, though, Tabitha moved here to Las Vegas from Los Angeles when she was about 8 years old. Her mom's name is Regina Lacerda, and Tabitha was her only child. Regina raised her as a single mom with the help of her grandmother. Tabitha was the main source of income for their household, and we also learned that she even helped support her grandmother who lives back in Brazil and unfortunately has dementia. Her mom was quoted as saying, she was my life. She wasn't just my only daughter. She was my best friend.

One of her teachers commented on her memorial website, I had the privilege of being Tabby's teacher in 7th and 8th grade. She was a beautiful soul, and I deeply cherish the time we spent together in English speech and debate. She had a fiery temperament, and I knew even then that she would grow up to be a spirited young woman. I was always proud of her ability to face challenges and adversity, and it is a true loss that she was taken from us so soon. Tabitha was a graduate of Cimarron Memorial High School here in Las Vegas in the Northwest Valley and later graduated from an esthetician school. Tabitha was extremely popular, as you may have already guessed, and very well liked. She worked in the Las Vegas club scene and had more than 37,000 followers on Instagram

and almost 3,800 friends on Facebook. She was a dog mom and enjoyed writing poetry, which she often posted on her second Instagram account dedicated to her art. She believed in looking out for people and giving back. She had a post on her Instagram where she was collecting donations to support homeless people. So you can see she really used her influencer status to help others. Her very last Instagram post was her declaring her support for Brazil in the World Cup game. Her employer, Zai Las Vegas on Fremont Street,

issued a statement after her murder saying, Tabitha was an integral part of our team and she will never be forgotten. We have a ton of quotes from people about her, so we'll share some of those. One of her friends described her by saying, if you saw her, you saw light. Other things people said about her included that she was very kind, very loving, peaceful, inspirational to her friends, supportive and empowering, beautiful inside and out, and was described as a real-life guardian angel, that recurring theme of watching out for others. In addition to her mother and thousands of friends and fans, Tabitha is being mourned by her chihuahua Lulu, who, following Tabitha's death, reportedly was sitting at her door

waiting for her mom to come home. Regarding her alleged murderer, Oswaldo Nathaniel Perez Sanchez, and of course Perez Sanchez is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but as we'll talk about in a bit, Tabitha was with a friend of hers when all this went down, who witnessed the whole thing firsthand. We don't know that much about him, but Perez Sanchez goes by Nate. He was born May 16th, 1996, so he'll be turning 29 in May of 2025.

He was 26 at the time of the murder. Looking into his history, we discover that he has an uncontested divorce listed in the family court prior to meeting Tabitha, and he also has demonstrated that he was extremely obsessed with Tabitha. In several of the photos we'll share, you'll see that he has a tattoo of her face, which he got before they started dating, which seems like extremely unstable behavior. It does make him easier to identify, though, so as I said, we'll be sure to keep sharing photos of him and include that one. We don't know a lot about their relationship because most of her social media posts were focused on her extremely successful modeling career. We do know that Tabitha called her

mother and a friend on the morning of Saturday, April 22nd, saying that she was trying to get away from her boyfriend, Perez Sanchez. Her mother said in an interview with Channel 13 News that they had a turbulent relationship and Tabitha was done with him. In that same interview with Channel 13, Tabitha's mom said the day before the murder, Tabitha said to her, Mom, I'm not happy. I'm trying to break up with him, but I'm afraid. When Regina asked her what she was afraid of, she replied that she was afraid of Oswaldo and what he might do. And Regina's reply was afraid of what he'll do to himself or to you. Tabitha's friends told Channel 3 News that they didn't know a lot about Tabitha's boyfriend because they'd been dating for less than eight months. One friend said she

respected Tabitha's judgment and that they didn't feel like they needed to press her that she needed to leave him. Her friends also believe that Perez Sanchez was obsessed and very jealous, which is clear from the tattoo he got of her face before they even started dating. One friend had said it was more obsession than love and that he didn't want to share her and her light with the world. Another friend said that she felt there were warning signs that the relationship was abusive or potentially abusive. She said that Tabitha was not able to go out when she wanted to, and that she had to be on speaker when she was talking on the phone with friends, two very common signs of a controlling and abusive relationship. On Saturday, April 22, 2023, around 11 a.m., Tabitha and a friend were returning home from

a fun night out. According to that friend, who wanted to remain anonymous, they were on the 8100 block of Ledger Drive just west of South Cimarron and north of Alta Drive in North Las Vegas when they were confronted by Perez Sanchez, who was wildly jealous about Tabitha being out. Their argument quickly escalated into a screaming match. Her friend said that Tabitha was trying to get out of her car, but Perez Sanchez wouldn't let her, and he had taken her keys. Shortly after that, he pulled out a gun and shot Tabitha in the head. She said he then walked up to her car, pointed the gun at her, and demanded that she get out.

She left her car, of course, and rushed over to Tabitha to help while Perez Sanchez sped away. She said that at first she didn't know where Tabitha had been shot. She couldn't tell, but she called 911 for help and told the operator that Tabitha was still alive, gasping for air and fighting for life. They waited 10 minutes for the police to arrive, 10 minutes that Perez Sanchez had to flee the scene and start his life as a fugitive, avoiding accountability. Tabitha was taken to UMC trauma and put on life support. She died on Monday night, two days later, with about a dozen friends and loved ones at her bedside. Her family honored her request to be an organ donor, and according to her family,

her organs potentially saved dozens of lives. Given everything we've learned about Tabitha, I wasn't a bit surprised to learn she was an organ donor. After the shooting, Regina shared that that morning she received a terrifying call from Tabitha asking her mom to come pick her up. Detectives investigating her murder also confirmed what her friend had described, that Tabitha had been in an argument with Perez Sanchez before being shot, and during that argument, he took out a firearm and shot her and fled the scene before police arrived. On Tabitha's GoFundMe, Regina described what happened that morning. She said, I raced over in a panic, and when I arrived at the scene, it was the worst thing any mother could imagine. My daughter had been shot by the man who claimed to love her and whom I trusted with her, the one who was my entire world. She's all I had left and my heart is completely shattered. Regina later said, my heart said that

something was very wrong. I didn't make it. I couldn't make it there on time to save my daughter. The podcast, The Murder Diaries, interviewed Regina about Tabitha on their podcast episode from September 19, 2024, and we recommend you listen to that interview at sinspod.co slash Regina. Natalie and Paige did an incredible job like always, so please check it out. On May 2, 2023, the Clark County coroner announced that her death was indeed a homicide to no one's surprise, and on May 2nd, LVMPD announced that Perez Sanchez was a person of interest, nearly two weeks after the crime. It is shocking to us that Metro took so long to identify him as a person of interest because they had an eyewitness to the events. By doing that,

they ensured that it would be much harder to find him because he had a two-week head start. One of Tabitha's friends said that when she heard his name had been released as a suspect, she cried happy tears because at least now they were finally looking for him. Two years later, he still has not been located. He's still at large and wanted for her murder whereabouts unknown. Charges include open murder with use of a deadly weapon, coercion, constituting domestic violence with the threat of physical force, robbery with the use of a deadly weapon for stealing Tabitha's friend's car, which he used in his escape, and of course,

grand larceny of a motor vehicle. It's possible that he's in California or even Mexico, as it was rumored. He has several very recognizable tattoos, including the one of Tabitha's face, and of course, we will continue to publicize this photo. In 2023, her family held a vigil in the weeks after her murder. In May, her loved ones packed into her funeral and had another candlelight vigil and gathered in a local park to celebrate her life. Her funeral was open to the public and was standing room only. Her friends and family have not stopped working to keep the case in the news and Perez Sanchez's face out there in the hope that someone will recognize him and turn him in. As of 2025, the FBI has him listed on their Most Wanted site. You can see the FBI's Most

Wanted poster by visiting sinspod.co slash nate and see that the FBI is offering a reward of up to $30,000 for information leading to his arrest. The U.S. Marshals also have his Wanted poster on their website, and you can see that at sinspod.co slash usmarshall. The U.S. Marshals have a separate $3,500 reward for information leading to his arrest. On October 22, 2023, her friends and family held a peaceful protest because Perez Sanchez had not been located. They gathered out front of Metro's headquarters to draw attention to Tabitha's case and ask for an update. Her loved ones have expressed intense frustration because not only did it take police 10 minutes to

get there while Tabitha was bleeding and dying, but it took 10 days before Perez Sanchez was named as a suspect. At the event, Regina said that she knows the protest and his arrest and conviction won't bring Tabitha back, but they feel it's important to honor Tabitha's memory and seek justice for her. Regina also said, I'm going to fight until my last breath. I'm going to be here fighting for justice. Her friends and family are demanding that Perez Sanchez turn himself in and are pleading with anyone who might be helping him or hiding him to come forward and do the right thing. Many of them have expressed how his arrest would take a weight off of their shoulders,

particularly Regina's shoulders, and the Las Vegas community at large as well. Tabitha's family and friends have also spoken about their desire to raise awareness of domestic violence-related killings in light of her death and domestic violence in general, encouraging women to find a trusted person or resource to go to for help. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Metro Police Statistics, the number of homicides in Clark County in 2024 was the lowest it has been since 2019. However, Metro has stated that domestic violence remains the leading cause of murder in our community. Clark County includes the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and

Henderson and other rural and smaller towns. North Las Vegas saw their domestic violence homicides actually increase at a statistically significant rate, from nine victims in 2023 to 15 victims in 2024, making more than half of the murders in North Las Vegas domestic violence-related. Meanwhile, Henderson police said they didn't classify any of their 10 homicides in 2024 as domestic violence slayings, quote, although many involved individuals that shared a domestic relationship with the suspect. I really can't make sense of that. their protests at Metro's headquarters to continue to keep the spotlight on Tabitha and to urge our community to remain vigilant and to report any information regarding Perez Sanchez and his whereabouts. We stand with them and hope they receive the answers and justice they deserve soon. We have posted and will continue to post photos of Perez Sanchez along with his wanted poster. Please share his photo and mention his name because all it takes is for one person to recognize him to bring him in for her murder. Anyone with information should call the Las Vegas

Metro Police Homicide Division at 702-828-3521 or contact Crime Stoppers of Nevada at 702-385-5555 or the Las Vegas FBI Field Office at 702-385-1281. People can also contact the U.S. Marshals at 1-877-926-8332 or you can submit tips using the U.S. Marshal Service Tips app. We should also emphasize that he is considered by both the FBI and Marshal Service to be armed and dangerous, and you should not approach or confront him by yourself. If you see him, call one or more of the numbers to report him. We hold out hope that he will eventually be located. Another case we covered that has some similarities was the murder of Leslie Palacio by Eric Rangel Ibarra. In that case, Ibarra fled to Mexico and was hiding out for nearly four years before he was apprehended with the help of Mexican authorities.

All it takes is for one person to recognize him, as we said, and the Tazi family can finally have their chance for Perez Sanchez to answer for his crimes and to get justice for Tabitha. We'll share the link to the Tabitha Tazi Facebook page in the show notes, and of course, her friends and family would appreciate if you would go to the page, like it, and share the information about Tabitha's case. In the meantime, please check out our show notes on sinsandsurvivors.com, share the information about Tabitha's case, and share that Most Wanted poster for Perez Sanchez. He is out there somewhere, and we will continue to share updates on this story and hopefully be able to tell you that he's been apprehended soon.

Thanks again for listening and sharing, because what happens here happens everywhere. To be continued... Remember to like and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Threads at Sins and Survivors. If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice. You can contact us at questions at sinsandsurvivors.com. If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence or needs support, please reach out to local resources or the National Domestic Violence Hotline. A list of resources is available on our website, sinsandsurvivors.com. Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast, is research written and produced by your hosts, Sean and John. The information shared in this podcast is accurate at the time of recording.

If you have questions, concerns, or corrections, please email us. Links to source material for this episode can be found on our website, sinsandsurvivors.com.