Shocking Vegas Murder Trial: Former Adult Star Faces Charges in Gruesome Beheading Case

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The courtroom drama surrounding an ex-porn actress accused of a gruesome crime took a pivotal turn on Wednesday. The trial against Devyn Michaels, also known by her screen names Nikki Fairchild and Tracee Tavarez, began as her defense sought to shift blame onto another suspect — her stepson, who she later married.

Michaels, 47, was taken into custody by Henderson police on August 15, 2023, following the murder of 46-year-old Johnathon Willette. Authorities have charged her with killing and decapitating Willette at his Henderson residence on August 7, 2023.

In a twist last fall, Michaels admitted to a second-degree murder charge. The plea agreement provided that she could become eligible for parole after serving 15 years behind bars. However, Michaels later attempted to withdraw her plea, claiming her innocence. Despite her efforts, Judge Tierra Jones of the Clark County District Court ruled that Michaels had entered her plea “voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently,” according to court documents. During her sentencing earlier this year, Michaels expressed remorse but immediately professed her innocence.

The courtroom tension escalated with an unexpected outburst from Michaels, prompting Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani to propose that the case proceed to trial, a suggestion that Judge Jones accepted.

Devyn Michaels sits in court on the first day of her trial on Nov. 5, 2025. (KLAS)

Wednesday, after seating a jury of 14, which includes two alternates, Michaels’ trial began with opening statements.

Giordani told the jury that Michaels killed Johnathon Willette to live a life with their two children and her husband, Johnathon Willette’s son, Deviere Willette.

“And all I can say is, ‘Buckle up, because you’re in for a wild ride,’” Giordani told jurors as he showed them crime scene photos, which included Johnathon Willette’s decapitated body. Police never recovered his head or the murder weapon.

Michaels allegedly beat Willette with a stick and then decapitated him, Giordani said. Police then believe she poured chemicals over his body.

Michaels and Johnathon Willette never married and in the months before his murder, Johnathon Willette was granted full custody of their two children. In an attempt to stabilize their lives, Johnathon Willette was in the process of moving in with Michaels, though Giordani said that was not her real wish.

Referencing a photo of Michaels, Deviere Willette and the children, Giordani told the jury: “This is the future that she saw and that she wanted, and the only way to have that future was with John out of the picture.”

Michael’s defense attorney, Robert Draskovich, told the jury a different story, alleging Deviere Willette killed his father. Police never named Deviere Willette as a suspect and interviewed him several times, according to Wednesday’s testimony.

“Look at the motivations, and find her not guilty,” Draskovich told the jury.

Prosecutors allege Devyn Michaels killed Johnathon Willette and then poured chemicals on him. (KLAS)

According to Draskovich, Deviere Willette told police he and Michaels had a sexless marriage. Draskovich then showed the jury intimate photos and messages the pair shared dating back to 2016 when Deviere Willette was in his late teens.

In the days before Johnathon Willette’s murder, Michaels messaged Deviere Willette, calling him a “liar” and a “cheater” and asking for a divorce, Draskovich said.

“What happened on Aug. 7, 2023, was Deviere was getting kicked out, he was no longer going to be in this relationship because dad, the dad he hated, was coming in and not only taking his home, but taking his wife,” Draskovich said.

No cellphone or video evidence puts Deviere Willette at the crime scene, Giordani told the jury. Draskovich told the jury that Deviere Willette works as a home-security system technician and has access to power saws.

During sentencing in July, Devyn Michaels, apologized to Willette’s family and then immediately said she was innocent. The judge then ordered the case to go to trial. (KLAS)

Deviere Willette was among the names expected to testify in the trial. Because of this, he was not in the courtroom on Wednesday.

Michaels is accused of taking Willette’s head from the Henderson crime scene and driving it to her home in Las Vegas, where she threw it in the trash, documents said. The head was then likely picked up by a trash service, prosecutors said.

As the 8 News Now Investigators reported after Michaels’ arrest, Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus sentenced her to one year of probation on the child abuse charge on Aug. 9, 2023 — after prosecutors believe Michaels had killed Willette. In the days before and after that hearing, police interviewed Michaels and collected evidence as part of their murder investigation, documents said.

Jones ordered prosecutors not to discuss the child abuse case in this trial.

“I don’t know how to fix this,” Michaels cried as she asked to withdraw her plea during sentencing last summer.