Was Amy Dechant wrongly accused or a greedy woman trying to outrun the law? A son fails to call his mother one summer night in 1996. Was this happenstance or did something nefarious take place? Listen and learn how America’s Most Wanted played a crucial role in bringing a desperate fugitive to justice.
Apple Podcasts
Stitcher
Pandora
Spotify
Google Podcasts
iHeartRadio
TuneInLocation
Las Vegas, Nevada is known for being the 28th most populated city in the United States among other things. It is the halfway point between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Los Angeles, California. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent members there in 1855 to establish a fort. They abandoned it several years later.
Vegas was founded in 1905. Nevada legalized casino gambling in 1931 and also reduced residency requirements for couples wanting to get a divorce. Las Vegas is also the place for quickie marriages with the first wedding chapel established in 1942. No blood work or waiting periods required!
Las Vegas’s nickname is “Sin City.”
July 6, 1996
Bruce Charles Weinstein, an illegal bookie, always followed a routine of calling his mother, Sylvia White at 6 pm Las Vegas time no matter where he was or what he was doing. When Sylvia failed to hear from Bruce by 8 am the next morning (July 6th) she called Bruce’s home. His live-in girlfriend, Amy DeChant answered. She stated that Bruce had gone out the night before around 11 pm and had yet to return.
Amy told Sylvia that Bruce mentioned that if he was not back before they were to leave for vacation later that week to go ahead and he would catch up with her. Sylvia immediately felt that something wasn’t right. Her son would never go out that late and was usually asleep by then. Sylvia decided to head over to Bruce’s house.
When she arrived she found Amy cleaning the white carpet on the stairway. That really didn’t surprise her, as Amy owned a carpet cleaning business. What did surprise her was finding Bruce’s wallet, cell phone, and his favorite pair of sandals at the bottom of the stairs. Bruce’s cell phone was his lifeline and something he would not be without due to his business of sports betting.
The next day, after still not hearing from Bruce, Sylvia contacted the Las Vegas Police Department and filed a missing person’s report.
Amy Rica DeChant
Amy DeChant had a tragic upbringing. Both of her parents had died by the time she turned nine years old. She was predominantly raised by an aunt and uncle in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Amy married her high school sweetheart at the age of 17 and started her own carpet cleaning business. Amy’s marriage didn’t last and she developed a history of dating men who had money. The next one was always wealthier than the last.
At age 45 and after two failed marriages, Amy decided that she wanted a fresh start and warmer weather. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. Amy arrived in Las Vegas in 1992 with the money she had made in her previous cleaning business. She bought herself a condo and decided to start up a business she already found success in, carpet cleaning.
Amy hired two employees to help her with her business. One was a long-time friend, Claudia McClure and another was a man that she met in a casino, Wayne “Bobby” Jones. Amy’s business was doing well and she had even landed two big contracts, one with Scenic Airlines and the other with MGM Grand.
Bruce Weinstein
Amy DeChant met Bruce Weinstein in the fall of 1995. They were at a Texas hold ’em poker table in the Mirage Casino. Bruce is described as being one to stand out in a crowd. He was 46 years old, weighed 300 pounds, and wore his hair in a ponytail.
Bruce described himself as a professional gambler. He was also involved with the family bookmaking business for the past twenty years. A bookmaker is someone who takes money on events. Mostly sporting events, and pays on those bets at the agreed-upon odds if the client wins.
Bruce and Amy’s relationship seems to have started off as a professional one. Bruce had hired Amy’s cleaning service for a few jobs. Their relationship quickly turned into a romantic one. Soon Amy moved into Bruce’s recently purchased Spanish-style mini-mansion. Bruce lavished gifts on Amy including a diamond necklace and a turquoise Chevy Camaro just weeks after they had started dating.
Amy seemed to make Bruce happy. Even his family was happy that she had helped Bruce lose weight. Bruce was a diabetic and when they met he was 300 lbs. He eventually got down to 260 lbs.
Private Eye
Bruce’s family was frustrated by the slow pace of the police investigation, so on July 7, 1996, they hired private investigator, Michael Wysocki to help figure out what had happened to Bruce. Wysocki immediately focused on the last person to see or speak to Bruce, Amy DeChant. When he interviewed Amy she once again relayed the same story that she had told Bruce’s mother about him leaving around 11 pm on July 5th.
On July 11th Wysocki spoke with Amy once again and this time she told him that she was planning on leaving the country and was looking into non-extradition countries. The next day she once again spoke to Wysocki and this time she gave him a new version of events.
She said that on the night of July 5th four masked men broke into their home. The men separated them with Bruce being taken to the bedroom and her to the dining room. Three of the men beat Bruce up, shot him, and took his body with them. The intruders told Amy to keep her mouth shut and to clean up the crime scene. If anybody asked about Bruce she was to tell them Bruce had “gone out.”
Their final message was that they would be watching her and if she talked to anybody they would kill her. Wysocki was able to find blood and a bullet hole on the flip side of Bruce’s mattress. He would immediately report his findings to police.
Police Interview
The next day, Amy would repeat this new version of events, but this time to the police in a taped interview. She did add another little tidbit saying that she received a call from one of the intruders several days after Bruce’s murder. This call was to remind her that they were watching her and wouldn’t hesitate to kill her and Bruce’s daughter from his first marriage.
What surprised the police in their interview with Amy was that she brought notes with her. She referred to these notes when telling the police her version of events that night. Amy claimed that she always kept notes. That was something she did in her business to keep everything straight.
There were four intruders who spoke with New York accents. Amy implied to police that because Bruce was involved with illegal bookmaking that his death was tied to organized crime i.e. the mob. Police immediately got search warrants and began an exhaustive search of Bruce’s home, Amy’s car, and Bruce’s car, also the truck that Amy used for her business. They also began to look into Amy’s relationship with her employee, Bobby Jones.
Evidence
Police searched Bruce’s home for blood evidence and sprayed Luminol throughout. Police were able to find a distinct trail of blood starting in the master bedroom, down the stairs, and into the foyer area of the home. No murder weapon or shell casings were located. Also, there were no bloodstains or carpet fibers found in any of the vehicles.
During the investigation, police discovered that Amy had purchased a safety deposit box at a local hotel. Police seized the box and found $35,000, sport book chips, and a bag of jewelry. At this point, although Amy was a suspect in Bruce’s disappearance and most likely murder, they did not have enough to charge her.
August 11, 1996
A little over two months later in Mesquite, Nevada, Bruce’s body was discovered by some hikers/rabbit hunters. Mesquite is located approximately an hour and fifteen minutes northeast of Las Vegas near the Arizona border. His grave had been covered with stones.
A .38 caliber bullet was found inside his body and was determined to be the cause of death. Unfortunately, ballistic tests could not be run on the bullet because of its condition. A year later a .38 caliber gun was found in the desert outside of Las Vegas that was traced to Matthew Hunt. He was a friend of Bobby Jones’ son.
The gun was rusty due to being out in the elements and was unable to be positively matched to Bruce’s murder. However, it was the same make and caliber that was used to kill him.
In the Wind
Police went to arrest Amy, but she was gone. Before she left she found Bruce’s hiding place in his closet wall. She ended up taking $135,000 with her. A fugitive warrant was issued. She wasn’t on the run for long, but she did make it all the way to Maryland. In the fall of 1996, she would be pulled over for speeding. When the police asked for ID Amy decided that she would flash her vagina at the officer seemingly offering something in lieu of her ID in trying to get out of the situation.
The officer did not take Amy up on her offer and arrested her. In searching her vehicle, police would find $101,000 thrown about the car along with a passport and wigs.
Extradited
Amy was extradited back to Nevada after spending two months in a Maryland jail. Since she had not been formally charged with Bruce’s murder her bail was set at just $5,000. Amy paid her bail and promptly took off again. Amy was able to remain off of the police’s radar for more than a year, but that would all end on January 3, 1998. Amy’s story was featured on an episode of America’s Most Wanted.
Phone lines lit up and police got a tip that Amy had been seen at the Sunnier Palms Nudist Park & Campground near Fort Pierce, Florida. Sunnier Palms is a clothing-optional community established in 1992 that still operates today. When police arrived at Sunnier Palms they had just missed Amy, who was living under the name, Sandy Wade, by just a few hours. Police were able to pick up her trail and would find her in Port St. Lucie at a friend’s house a few days later on January 28, 1998.
Amy had been working at various bars during her time on the run. She was once again returned to Las Vegas, but this time was held without bail and charged with murder with a deadly weapon. Amy would be the 500th fugitive captured with help from America’s Most Wanted.
Bobby Jones
While Amy was avoiding authorities, Bobby (58) was been charged as an accessory for helping Amy move Bruce’s body from his home and then transporting and eventually burying the body. Bobby had also fled Las Vegas after the murder, but was tracked down and arrested a month later in New Mexico.
October 1998
Amy’s trial began and prosecutors painted a picture of a greedy woman who was only in a relationship with Bruce because she wanted his money. When Bruce threatened to end their relationship Amy didn’t want to give up the lavish lifestyle and murdered him. Bobby Jones was Amy’s co-defendant.
Amy maintained her innocence sticking with the story she had told the P.I. and police about the masked intruders and that Bruce was murdered due to his illegal bookmaking. A neighbor of Bruce’s testified at trial that on the night of July 5th he heard three popping sounds, which at the time he took for leftover fireworks.
During the trial, Al Leavitt, a former detective testified for the state that Amy’s mob story was a “fairy tale”. This was made over defense objections. The prosecution would reiterate the “fairy tale” statement in their closing arguments. The jury deliberated for two days before they would come back with a verdict of guilty.
Amy was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Bobby Jones received a five-year sentence for his involvement.
Fairy Tale
The fairy tale comment would come back to bite the prosecution in 2000. The Nevada State Supreme Court vacated Amy’s verdict saying that the “fairy tale” comment unfairly influenced the jury and ultimately the verdict they passed. The prosecution decided that instead of going to trial again they would offer Amy a deal. If Amy plead guilty to 2nd-degree murder she would receive a sentence of 10 to 25 years with credit for time served. At this point that was 3 ½ years when she accepted the plea on September 20, 2001.
In July 2010, Amy DeChant was released from prison at the age of 69. Her whereabouts are unknown.
In other news
In 2002, Sylvia White (76), her grandson, Marc Weinstein (22), and two others were arrested and charged with felony bookmaking – operating a sportsbook without a license and racketeering. Gaming control board agents had raided a suburban home and found a bank of telephones, computers, betting slips, and game boards.
Gaming officials estimate that the operation had several thousand dollars in wagers made on a weekly basis
Resources
- Amy DeChant Murdered Husband Bruce Weinstein, Then Hid At Nudist Colony | Murders A to Z
- The naked & the dead: Killer Amy DeChant found in nudist camp
- Amy DeChant – Top 10 America’s Most Wanted Captures – TIME
- Nevada Grandma Arrested on Bookmaking Charges
- Supreme Court reverses conviction in Vegas bookie’s murder
- Amy DeChant
- Las Vegas
- Fugitive girlfriend of slain Vegas bookie captured in Florida
- Jury continues deliberations in DeChant-Jones murder trial