Jacob Dylan Middlebrook, 35, and his girlfriend, Layne Justine McIntosh, 36, were arrested at a Laughlin, Nevada, casino after police found the victim's missing vehicle parked there, according to the Bullhead City Police Department.

The body of Arron Christopher Warren was discovered around 11:45 a.m. on Nov. 7 by a motorist driving near Silver Creek Road and Bullhead Parkway, a desolate stretch on the outskirts of Bullhead City. Responding officers determined the circumstances were suspicious and launched a homicide investigation.

Warren, described by police as a local transient, had been stabbed to death. Investigators quickly identified a possible suspect and noticed his vehicle was gone.

With help from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, officers located the car several hours later at the casino in Laughlin, about 90 miles north of Bullhead City. Middlebrook and McIntosh, both also described as transients, were taken into custody and initially booked on second-degree homicide charges.

On Nov. 9, police announced they had upgraded the charges to first-degree murder, alleging the killing was premeditated. According to detectives, the couple had expressed hostility toward registered sex offenders and had planned the homicide in advance. They reportedly chose the desert location ahead of time as the place to leave Warren's body and even measured furniture or beds that could be large enough to conceal the body along the roadside.

Warren was a registered Level 2 sex offender, a designation that requires public notification when an offender moves into a neighborhood. Police said the couple had known Warren for several months.

The case has raised questions about how public safety information is shared and how communities respond to it. In a social media post on Nov. 9, Bullhead City Police Chief Paul George defended the department's notification practices while emphasizing that the goal is awareness, not vigilantism.

"When a Level 2 or Level 3 sex offender moves into our area or, more commonly, changes addresses, the Bullhead City Police Department shares that information as a public service to help keep residents informed," George wrote. "While required notifications are mailed to residents living within an approximate 1,000 feet radius of an offender's registered address, we go a step further by sharing these notifications on social media to reach a broader audience. Our goal is to provide information, not create fear or alarm. We believe an informed community is a safer community."

It remains unclear how detectives initially connected Middlebrook and McIntosh to the killing or precisely where they were located before their arrest. The investigation is ongoing.

The couple is being held at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas as they await extradition to Mohave County, where they will face prosecution. No court dates have been set.