LEOMINSTER — Friends and family of a maintenance worker from Leominster, who lost his life in a triple homicide at a Las Vegas apartment complex last summer, are awaiting justice in a trial that could lead to the death penalty for his killer.
Chris Brassard, 45, was killed while performing a welfare check on an 80-year-old resident at the Rancho De Montana Apartments in Las Vegas last June.
A native of Leominster, friends say Brassard was a fun-loving optimist and diehard Boston Bruins fan.
“He’d walk into a room, we’d crack a joke here and there, Chris was really good at working a crowd,” Chris Kirouac, Brassard’s friend for over 30 years, told KTNV Channel 13 in Las Vegas.
Kirouac maintained communication with Brassard even after his move to Las Vegas over ten years ago. Another close friend, Kyle Kolb, recalls Brassard’s perpetual optimism and zest for life.
“He was always bright-eyed and looking for a great time. He always tried to cheer people up and he didn’t like when people were down,” Kolb recalled.
Brassard was killed by Spencer McDonald, 30, the grandson of Dina Vail, the 80-year-old resident he was performing a welfare check on.
The devastating incident left Brassard’s friends grappling with a sense of frustration as they await for justice from a trial – they say – has been marked by delays.
Tragedy at Rancho De Montana: A Detailed Look at the Las Vegas Triple Murder Case
When Las Vegas Metropolitan Police arrived at the Rancho De Montana Apartments at around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, they discovered Brassard’s body on the ground in front of the door to the apartment. Vail and Andrew Graden, her 43-year-old boyfriend, were found dead in a nearby master bedroom.
(Courtesy Photo/KLAS)
McDonald told police that he murdered his grandmother in her bedroom with a cosplay sword and a chef’s knife at around 4 a.m. a few days before her body was discovered. Investigators confirmed this, saying the first victims were killed as early as Friday before they were called to the apartment Tuesday.
According to police, McDonald described in graphic detail how he used the weapons to murder his grandmother, noting “how surprised he was how long the body continues to move after.”
McDonald said he then waited a few hours for Graden to return to the apartment, at which point he attacked him in the living room, striking him in the head with a makeshift mace made from exercise equipment and stabbing him with the chef’s knife. Once McDonald realized Graden was dead, he dragged his body into his grandmother’s bedroom, placed it on her bed, and covered it with pillows.
McDonald reportedly told police it was business as usual after the murders. He maintained his routine by “simply going about his weekend,” which included going to the gym and grabbing some coffee.
Cosplay sword McDonald used to kill his grandmother (Courtesy Photo/Clark County District Court) 
Makeshift mace McDonald made from exercise equipment (Courtesy Photo/Clark County District Court) 
Chef’s knife on floor of McDonald’s grandmother’s apartment following murders (Courtesy Photo/Clark County District Court) 
Top of makeshift mace McDonald made from exercise equipment (Courtesy Photo/Clark County District Court)
Brassard was killed Tuesday, June 27, after he was sent with another maintenance worker to perform a welfare check on Vail after a friend of hers said he could not reach her. The other maintenance worker, who survived, said that after opening the door to the apartment, he yelled for someone to call police and heard Brassard scream before McDonald struck him in the back.
“…her grandson hear when I say call the police and I hear only my friend Chris scream. And after that, you know, like I see something shine so I tried to run and he hit me in the back,” he said.
A 2013 article by The Washington Post profiled a family with a son named Spencer, who was grappling with a schizophrenia diagnosis. Though not officially confirmed, the individual in the article appears to be McDonald.
In a recent jailhouse interview, when a reporter from KTNV Las Vegas asked McDonald if he was mentally ill, he replied “no.”
Legal Proceedings Slow Brassard’s Friends’ Quest for Justice
Last summer, McDonald was indicted by a grand jury for two counts of murder with the use of a deadly weapon, one count of murder with the use of a deadly weapon of a victim age 60 or older, and one count of attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon.
Brassard’s friends, who are still mourning his loss, say the path to justice has been long and arduous.
Branden Lillegaard, who lives in Las Vegas and was a friend of Brassard, said McDonald’s sentencing has been delayed by evaluations of the suspect’s mental competency.
“It’s been a battle. One thing after another,” Lillegaard said. “You kind of expect it when you lose someone like that but it’s hit worse since my wife and I have been to Boston and we’ve met all of his friends and most of his family.”
Following a court hearing last September, McDonald was deemed competent to stand trial.
Prosectuors have filed to seek the death penalty against McDonald. In a hearing in Clark County District Court on Jan. 9, 2024, McDonald was given the opportunity to take capital punishment off the table in exchange for life without parole, but he declined the offer.
McDonald is scheduled for a pretrial hearing in April, while his trial date has been deferred to March 2025.
