Hailey Nieto’s family has filed a lawsuit in the Nevada Second Judicial District Court alleging negligence by the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Siegel Suites and Smart Communications, which runs communications between inmates and people outside the Parr jail.
The lawsuit alleges that Nieto’s convicted murderer, 40-year-old Todd Tonnochy, was communicating with the teenager in 2022 when he was in jail for other crimes, threatening her with sex trafficking and murder.
It states that “Smart Communications had a duty to monitor, flag, report and intercept all potentially dangerous communications made by inmates, including but not limited to threats made by inmates.”
Tonnochy was released from jail in January 2023.
The lawsuit says he then began to sex traffick Nieto, a mother of two, at a downtown Siegel Suites in Reno and killed her there on March 21, 2023. Her partially dismembered body was found in the Cold Springs area in a pile of trash.
Tonnochy was found guilty of second degree murder in August, while being acquitted of first degree murder, after the defense said the shooting was an accident. Tonnochy was also found guilty of destroying evidence, possession of a deadly weapon and intimidating.
Judge Scott Freeman is scheduled to sentence Tonnochy on Dec. 2.
In a GofundMe for Nieto’s girls, which has now reached over $60,000 in donations, April Nieto wrote on September 30th: “We were sad that he was found guilty of only 2nd degree murder but with laws here there was a lot of evidence that was left out that the jury did not see. The silver lining is the other charges as well including habitual criminal which in Nevada can land you 10 years to life just on that charge plus enhancements like Felon with a firearm and intimidating witnesses. The judge also made the call that when sentencing happens on December 2nd he will decide the fate not the jury so we are happy about that he is known to be a tough judge.”
Our Town Reno reporting, November 2024