A Nevada man convicted of killing a young mother and her 4-year-old son in 1993 has been released from prison, sparking outrage from the victims’ family. However, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford had no role in the decision.
Michael Domingues, who strangled 24-year-old Arjin Chanel Pechpho and stabbed her son Jonathan Smith in Sunrise Manor, was sentenced to death in 1994, making him the youngest person in modern Nevada history to receive a death penalty. Following U.S. Supreme Court rulings barring juvenile executions, his sentence was commuted to life without parole, then resentenced in 2020 to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
The Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners, an independent body of seven members appointed by the governor, granted Domingues parole in December 2025 by a 6-1 vote. His release occurred on or around March 24. The board cited factors such as rehabilitation efforts, remorse expressed at the hearing, and a moderate risk assessment.
The victims’ family, including Pechpho’s mother, Tawin Eshelman, strongly opposed the release, saying no one notified them of the parole hearing or decision. They learned of the release through media reports and said they would have attended to oppose it. While some family members had not submitted formal notification forms in the past, they argued the board could have easily located them.
Attorney General Aaron Ford did not participate in the hearing and had no statutory authority to intervene. Nevada law limits who can speak at parole hearings: only the inmate, or their representative, and victims or immediate family members have a guaranteed right to testify.
While law enforcement officials or others may occasionally be allowed to provide input at the board’s discretion, the AG is not automatically entitled to comment or oppose parole. Ford’s office also had no direct role in Domingues’ 2020 resentencing.
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