Father, 4-year-old son in murder-suicide identified

A man fatally stabbed his 4-year-old son, wounded his ex-girlfriend and took his own life Wednesday night in a southwest valley house, a horror witnessed by the woman’s mother, who drove the victims to the hospital, according to Metro Police.

The Clark County Coroner’s Office on Thursday identified the boy as Nova Knaub. The man was Tyler Allen Knaub, according to Clark County Family Court records.

He and the mother of the boy have been involved in a custody, visitation and child support case involving the boy since October 2013, according to court records.

In June and then this month, there were two motions to modify custody, visitation and/or child support. The July 13 petition was vacated by a Family Court judge. Further details about that case were not immediately available.

Before the brutal attack, which Lt. Dan McGrath called a “tragedy,” Tyler Knaub parked his motorcycle about a block away before forcing his way into the house and zip-tying the hands of the victims.

The boy’s grandma called 911 at 7:06 p.m. as the attack unfolded in the 8700 block of Norton Peak Avenue, near Durango Drive and Blue Diamond Road, McGrath said.

When officers arrived, the woman had already rushed off to Southern Hills Hospital, driving her daughter and grandson, McGrath said. The boy died soon after arrival and the woman was transferred to University Medical Center, where she was in stable condition late Wednesday.

According to a preliminary investigation, Knaub, only described as being in his late 20s, knocked on the door, and pushed his way in when someone slightly opened it to see who it was, McGrath said.

At some point, he bound the hands of his ex-girlfriend and his son, and first stabbed the boy and then the mother, McGrath said. The grandma was apparently not tied and was uninjured.

Neighbors, who witnessed the aftermath of the stabbing and helped the older woman before she drove off, told officers that the hands of the woman and the boy were tied, McGrath said.

The female victim was described as a woman in her early 30s, McGrath said.

Officers sent police dogs inside and later found Tyler Knaub in a bathroom suffering from self-inflicted stab wounds, McGrath said.

Detectives were combing through the couple’s history, which includes an arrest of Knaub, who was accused of domestic violence against the woman in 2015, McGrath said. Details on when they broke up weren’t immediately available, but McGrath said Knaub did not live in the house where the tragedy unfolded.

Apparently there was no restraining order in effect against Knaub.

“It’s a tragedy. I can’t explain how someone could kill their child; it’s very hard to understand,” McGrath said from the scene.

Neighbors gathered behind the yellow tape and asked officers questions. The Metro area command Capt. Roxanne Burke addressed the group.

The older woman remained at the hospital late Wednesday and was only described as being very distraught. Police originally described the victim as a 4-year-old girl.

This is the second murder-suicide in the same part of the valley this month. On July 9, a man shot and killed his baby boy and his son’s mother.

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