Police said they found the body of 17-year-old Nichole Elizabeth Yegge on Saturday afternoon after surreptitiously following Yates to the site. The report said the victim was involved in a love triangle with the suspects.

Homicide Sgt. Russell Shoemaker said the slaying victim's body was found by police Saturday night about 8 p.m. He said it was clear from the condition of the body that Yates and Osburn were trying to cover up their crime.

"Their intent, as far as we know based on the type of damage to her body, was to prevent her from being identified if found," Shoemaker said.

Yates and Osburn are accused of committing the slaying July 23, Shoemaker said.

Yates and Osburn, the parents of a newborn, were arrested Sunday at the Texas Station casino on charges of first-degree kidnapping and first-degree murder. The pair are being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center. They are scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning. Both Yates and Osburn denied Review-Journal requests for interviews Monday night.

Yegge was in the Clark County foster care system, but at the end of May was formally listed as a runaway, according to Christine Skorupski, a spokeswoman for the county's Department of Family Services. It's unclear how long Yegge was in foster care.

Police dispatchers received an early morning tip Wednesday from an acquaintance of Osburn's who lives in Huntsville, Ala.

"Her friends Gabriel Yates and 'Anne' were involved in the murder of a 17-year-old prostitute named 'Nikki,' whom Yates had been pimping out on Craig's List," the report says, outlining the woman's tip.

The acquaintance said the killing occurred three days prior to her call and was the result of a love triangle.

A craigslist.com ad for erotic services in Las Vegas included a contact number that is the same as the cell phone number police said Yegge was using. A photo in one of the ads with Yegge's number included a picture of Yates and the victim, police said.

Shoemaker said the victim is a suspected prostitute.

"We do believe there was a relationship between the three of them," he said, declining to describe the relationship further.

Police tracked down Yates and Osburn at their Koval Lane apartment the day the call was received. Detectives explained they were following up on a missing persons report. The two said that Yegge, who would have turned 18 this Friday, did not live in the apartment, but had recently visited.

Armed with a search warrant, detectives scoured the apartment and Yates' vehicle, a black BMW with the vanity plate "GO2GUY." Police found Yegge's property inside the home.

Using surveillance equipment, detectives began tracking the two on Friday.

"Yates was heard to say he worked in a slaughter house as a teenager skinning animals, blood did not bother him and he knew how to get rid of a body," the report says.

On Saturday, detectives followed Yates to a vacant desert area east of the Snow Mountain Golf Course just north of the turnoff to Kyle Canyon. Yates remained in his vehicle at the site, then drove away. Detectives searched the area and discovered Yegge's buried body.

Detectives conducting the surveillance also heard Osburn say Yates hit Yegge.

According to the report, "Nikki began to cry, told them she was leaving and was going to tell the police Osburn and Yates were pimping out an under-age girl. Nikki started for the door and Gabriel hit her again, knocking her to the floor. Anne then choked Nikki to death."

During interviews with homicide detectives after the arrests, Osburn declined to speak. Yates, however, did.

"Yates made the statement that the police had the body and had the right man," the report says.

Clark County School District spokesman Michael Rodriguez said Yegge was listed as a junior at Arbor View High School during the 2007-08 school year.

A neighbor who lives in the same apartment complex as Osburn and Yates believes she is one of the last people to see the 17-year-old alive. The neighbor did not want to be identified for fear of retribution.

The neighbor said the last time she saw Yegge was on July 21. The girl was sleeping inside Yates' BMW in the apartment parking lot. The neighbor knocked on the window after noticing the car's engine was running and asked the girl whether she was OK. Yegge cracked the window and told the neighbor she was fine.

"She did not look happy at all," the neighbor said of Yegge.

The neighbor said Yates came over the next morning to say thank you for the concern shown to Yegge.

"He just said the girl was working for him," the neighbor said. "He didn't use the word pimping, but close enough."

The neighbor said Yates worked for an escort service but didn't try to contact police. The neighbor did not know whether Yegge was a minor or a runaway.

The neighbor speculated that Yates is the mastermind behind Yegge's slaying. She said Yates also had a lot of control over Osburn, to the point where it was almost as if Osburn was brainwashed.

"She was in love with him," the neighbor said of Osburn. "Anything he told her to do she would listen. She was a good dog to him."

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.