Tanisha Finley: Las Vegas Strip Shooting and Death Penalty Case

Tanisha Finley, a 45-year-old Phoenix-area content creator known online as “Bubbly,” was shot and killed alongside her husband Rodney on the Las Vegas Strip on the night of June 8, 2025, while the couple was livestreaming in front of the Bellagio Fountains. The accused shooter, fellow YouTuber Manuel “Manny” Ruiz, has been indicted on two counts of murder with the use of a deadly weapon, and Clark County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. A jury trial is scheduled for August 17, 2026.¹

What Happened on the Night of June 8, 2025

At about 10:40 p.m. on Sunday, June 8, 2025, Rodney and Tanisha Finley were streaming on the Strip near the Bellagio Fountains. Earlier that evening, viewers watching both channels had seen Ruiz moving through the area across from the Paris Las Vegas, apparently looking for Rodney Finley.²

The livestream itself captured what happened next and has become a central piece of evidence. The video shows Rodney adjusting his camera, and about twenty seconds later, a struggle between Ruiz and Tanisha. Ruiz then pulled a handgun from his waistband and fired five to six shots. Tanisha grabbed the phone being used to stream, and one or two more shots were recorded before the phone hit the ground. Both Finleys died at the scene. The phone kept recording until a police officer arrived and manually shut off the stream.³

Family members in Phoenix watched it happen in real time. Rodney’s mother, Gracie Kennedy, had been on the phone with him moments before: “I called him, he said, ‘Mom, I can’t talk to you right now because I’m livestreaming.’ And then I heard the shots and then heard some more shots and the phone dropped.” Rodney’s son and Tanisha’s mother both called 911 from Phoenix after seeing the shooting on the stream.⁴

The Two-Year Feud Behind the Killing

The conflict between the Finleys and Ruiz had been building for roughly two years. All three streamed on and around Las Vegas, and by peers’ accounts the rivalry grew out of competition for viewers and filming turf. Fellow YouTuber Daniel Gutierrez said Ruiz was “demanding” that Rodney Finley not film in certain locations and grew resentful as Finley’s audience expanded.⁵ Another YouTuber, Marquis Wiley, described the dispute as a fight over “views” and status as the “biggest creator in Las Vegas.”⁶

The feud played out publicly through insults, attacks on each other’s families, and disputes over YouTube copyright strikes.⁷ Kennedy said Ruiz once told her son, “I hope your mom has a black dress, because I’m going to kill you.”⁴ Peers also reported that Ruiz directed racial slurs at the Finleys and made derogatory comments about Tanisha specifically.⁵

The hostilities had already produced at least one physical confrontation. On Halloween 2023, Ruiz filed a police report alleging the Finleys battered him at the Fremont Street Experience, claiming Tanisha struck him with a selfie stick and punched him and that Rodney pushed him.⁶ Friends of the Finleys alleged Ruiz had aimed pepper spray at Tanisha during a separate encounter.⁵

Ruiz’s Self-Defense Claim

Ruiz fled the scene immediately, then turned himself in to Henderson police the following morning, June 9, 2025.² Prosecutors say that before leaving, he crammed his firearm into a nearby fence, threw a hat in a trash can at the Paris Las Vegas, handed his phone to his wife to avoid being tracked, and pointed an officer at the scene toward a different person when asked where the shooter went.⁸

In his statement to detectives, Ruiz said he saw Rodney reaching for his waistband and believed he was going for a gun. He said he fired at Rodney’s torso, then aimed higher when Rodney kept moving. He then claimed he saw Tanisha holding a “shiny black object” he took to be a weapon and shot her as well, citing his concealed-carry training to “eliminate the threat.”⁹ Investigators found no weapons on or near either victim.³

His attorney, Chief Deputy Public Defender David Lopez-Negrete, has also pointed to Ruiz’s history of post-traumatic stress disorder, which the defense links to a violent gang attack Ruiz suffered in California at age 23.¹⁰ Lopez-Negrete acknowledged Ruiz’s flight was a mistake: “He shouldn’t have fled. He should have stayed behind, surrendered to police at that point and faced the consequences.” He also argued that an earlier recorded video in which Ruiz appeared to threaten Rodney “was not a real threat.”⁸

Charges and the Death Penalty

A Clark County grand jury indicted Ruiz on July 11, 2025, on two counts of murder with the use of a deadly weapon. He pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a speedy trial.¹¹

District Attorney Steve Wolfson publicly dismissed the self-defense theory as “probably garbage,” noting no weapons were found on or near the victims and no eyewitness described either as armed or reaching for one.¹² Chief Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Mercer, who is prosecuting the case, called the theory “absolutely absurd” and argued the video contradicts Ruiz’s account of the victims’ movements. Prosecutors have pointed to an earlier video in which Ruiz allegedly threatened to shoot Rodney, framing the confrontation as premeditated rather than spontaneous.⁸

A death review committee within the District Attorney’s Office formally approved seeking the death penalty. The state’s notice of intent cites that Ruiz “knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person” by firing in a crowded area on the Strip.¹³ Under Nevada law, first-degree murder is a category A felony carrying possible sentences that range from life with the possibility of parole after a minimum of 20 years served up to death, depending on aggravating and mitigating circumstances.¹⁴

Bail Denials and Trial Date

Ruiz has remained in custody without bail since surrendering in June 2025. His defense filed a motion in March 2026 asking that bail be set at $100,000. On April 2, 2026, Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones denied that request, citing “the weight of the evidence and the nature of the circumstances of the offense” and ruling Ruiz was not eligible for release.¹⁵

The jury trial is scheduled to begin August 17, 2026, before Judge Jones in Clark County District Court. If a jury convicts, prosecutors will ask for the death penalty.¹⁶ Murder trials in Clark County are frequently subject to delays of months or years, and the date may move.¹

1
8 News Now. YouTuber Panicked After Killing 2 on Las Vegas Strip, Seeks $100K Bail
2
AZ Family. Phoenix Couple Shot, Killed While Livestreaming on Las Vegas Strip
3
CBS News. Las Vegas Shooting Livestreamed on Victims’ YouTube Channel
4
8 News Now. Family Speaks About Arizona YouTubers Gunned Down on Las Vegas Strip
5
Law and Crime. YouTuber Murdered Rival During Livestream
6
KTNV. Police Report Reveals Previous Conflict Between Streamers
7
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Shooting on Las Vegas Strip
8
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Judge to Issue Decision on Bail for Suspect in Social Media-Fueled Fatal Strip Shooting
9
KTNV. Man Accused of Killing Two on Las Vegas Strip Claims He Shot in Self-Defense
10
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Man Accused of Fatally Shooting Two on Las Vegas Strip Wants $100K Bail
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Las Vegas Review-Journal. Suspect in Livestreamed Las Vegas Strip Shooting Could Face Death Penalty
12
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Prosecutors May Seek Death for Suspect in Shooting in Front of Bellagio
13
News 3 Las Vegas. Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty in Las Vegas Strip Murders
14
Nevada Legislature. NRS Chapter 200 – Crimes Against the Person
15
8 News Now. YouTuber Denied Bail Again in Las Vegas Strip Double Shooting
16
News 3 Las Vegas. Defense Bail Argument in Las Vegas Strip Shooting Case