Mark Gaughan

Mark Santiago Gaughan was a 23-year-old model and the only child of his mother, Caroline. After his father died, the two made a pact to always stick together. He was described as kind and thoughtful, with dreams of joining the military and becoming a pilot. In the pre-dawn hours of August 23, 2025, less than an hour after texting his mother that he loved her, the young White / Caucasian man’s life was cut short during a photo shoot in a Las Vegas neighborhood.

Shortly before 5 a.m., police were called to a home on Nassau Drive, where they found Gaughan lying on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to his neck and torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and the coroner later ruled his death a homicide. Investigators learned that Gaughan had been taking Polaroid pictures of his girlfriend of six months, 20-year-old Allysandra Blea, and another friend. The group had been drinking, and Blea was posing with a handgun near a vehicle when the weapon discharged, fatally striking Gaughan.

At the scene, police found Polaroid photos showing Blea holding the gun and another woman holding a knife. Blea initially told detectives that the shooting was a tragic accident, claiming she had no firearms training and believed the gun was unloaded. However, a friend named Gavin Fitzpatrick told police that he had previously worked at a gun store and, knowing the group was drinking, had unloaded the firearm for safety by removing the magazine and clearing the chamber. Another friend, Maverick Crafts, witnessed Blea point the gun at Gaughan just before hearing the shot.

As the investigation continued, a more disturbing picture emerged. After obtaining a search warrant for Blea’s social media accounts, detectives discovered what they described as her "fascination with firearms." They found numerous conversations where she discussed her love of guns and building an arsenal. In one message, she wrote, "I wish I could shoot people with real guns and get away with it." In another exchange with Gaughan, after he suggested they shoot a dummy, Blea allegedly replied, "We gotta shoot someone real."

Three days after the shooting, on August 26, 2025, police arrested Allysandra Blea and booked her into the Clark County Detention Center on a charge of open murder with a deadly weapon.

Ultimately, Blea pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and first-degree kidnapping. During her sentencing hearing on July 28, 2026, Mark Gaughan's mother, Caroline, delivered an emotional impact statement. "Mark's life and his future was cut short by the heartless defendant when she decided to pull that trigger and kill my son," she said. "Now my life is ruined and broken forever."

District Judge Jacqueline Bluth sentenced Blea to five years to life in prison. The case was resolved as of July 2026.