DNA links Las Vegas man to 2022 killing of Henderson woman
DNA finally tied Markus Williams to Yong Temple’s 2022 death after police revisited evidence from Amazon packages and a backyard encounter near the scene.
DNA evidence has now linked Markus Williams to the killing of Yong Temple, a 68-year-old Henderson woman whose body was found in her home more than four years ago. Temple was discovered in a closet in the 1800 block of Indian Bend Drive, near Wigwam Parkway and North Valle Verde Drive, after police responded to a welfare check just before 5 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2022. Her death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma to the head and neck, resulting in asphyxia.
The case began when Temple’s friend called police after not hearing from her, prompting officers to check the home that evening. Williams, now 37, was arrested on June 14, 2026, and booked on an open-murder charge. He is being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center after first being processed through the Henderson Detention Center.
Investigators had focused on Williams early in the case. Police said he was found sleeping in a backyard near the crime scene two days after Temple was killed, and that he was carrying Amazon packages routed to Temple’s home along with her house and vehicle keys. At the time, Williams told police he had found the items on a nearby golf course, and he was initially charged only with possessing stolen property and related offenses.
That earlier case ended without a homicide charge. Williams later pleaded no contest to trespassing and possession of stolen property, completed court requirements, and the matter was closed. But police continued to work the homicide, and their latest breakthrough came from DNA testing that eventually tied Williams back to Temple’s killing.
The physical evidence also deepened the suspicion around Temple’s home after police believed multiple Amazon packages in her name had been ordered after her death. One account said Williams was found on Jan. 9, 2022, lying on top of an open Amazon plastic bag addressed to Temple with a delivery date of Jan. 8, 2022. Taken together, the packages, the keys, the backyard encounter, and the DNA all pushed the case from a property crime investigation into a murder prosecution.
Williams has denied killing Temple or even being at her house. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 29, 2026, and the case that started with a welfare check in Henderson is now headed back into court with a named suspect and forensic evidence at the center of it.
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