In 2016, Carson City’s Sierra Ceccarelli, a 29-year-old mother of two, was murdered in the home of Robert Paul Eikelberger, her then-boyfriend and alleged killer.
Since then, justice for her killing has hit an extraordinary number of roadblocks.
When Eikelberger was re-arrested in December 2022, Ceccarelli’s family and friends hoped this would be the end to the hurdles of having her case heard. However, eight years after her death, the case continues to stall.
The trial has now been delayed for the third time after Eikelberger claimed his rights were violated when the court denied a request to extend the trial start again. Eikelberger was already granted two extensions for his team to prepare their case prior to the denial.
The Nevada Supreme Court has agreed to hear his argument, and ordered the case paused.
Eikelberger was first arrested for open murder in 2018, but the case was immediately transferred from Washoe County to Lyon County due to a potential conflict of interest.
Lyon County, however, opted not to file charges against Eikelberger. He was released again only five days after being arrested for Ceccarelli’s murder.
For four years, both Lyon and Washoe counties refused to release any information on the case, and refused to comment on its status other than to say it was still open — meaning no information could be released in records requests made by the media or the public.
Following an indictment by a grand jury in December 2022, Eikelberger was re-arrested for the murder of Ceccarelli, but spent only a few days in Washoe County Jail before posting his $1 million bail.
The trial was initially scheduled for April 2024, then postponed to October 2024, then postponed again until March 31 of this year. The court granted these postponements to allow Eikelberger’s team to prepare their case.
After the second postponement, Washoe County Judge Kathleen Drakulich said there would be no more delays, citing how the continued deferrals were affecting the Ceccarelli family.
When Eikelberger’s legal team attempted to pushback the court date for a third time, the request was denied, and Eikelberger argued this was a violation of his rights.
The Supreme Court has opted to hear the case, and ordered the trial date vacated pending their own hearing on the matter.
According to Joe Hart of KRNV, who has also been following this story for years, he said he “can’t remember another criminal case where the pre-trial proceedings have dragged on this long. Even the judge has acknowledged how painful this is for Sierra’s family.”
It is not known why Eikelberger and his team requested the third delay, or when the Supreme Court will be hearing their argument for violation.
Meanwhile, it has been over eight years since Ceccarelli was murdered, and her suspected killer has spent only a handful of days behind bars in the near decade since she was found shot to death in his apartment.
December 2016
The night of Dec. 9, 2016, Ceccarelli was found shot to death in the home of Eikelberger, who was 41 at the time.
Fourteen 911 calls from Ceccarelli’s cellphone were attempted in the hours prior to her death, but none of the calls could be completed.
When Reno Police Department officers arrived on scene, they found Eikelberger standing in the driveway. They noted he was making “strange statements,” and that he told officers he was intoxicated.
Eikelberger initially claimed that he did not know Ceccarelli, and told investigators she had entered his home and shot herself. He said he’d been upstairs watching a crime show when he heard a gunshot in his living room, and after discovering the scene, ran outside to call for help.
Eikelberger said Ceccarelli had “just shot herself” only a short time before the police arrived on scene. The police, however, reported Ceccarelli was “cold to the touch” and had been dead for some time.
Eikelberger also later told detectives that Ceccarelli was a sex worker named Diane, according to previous reports, but quickly changed the subject after making this claim. He also asked what had happened to Ceccarelli, because he hadn’t heard any gunshots in his house after all.
The autopsy later revealed that suicide would have been physically impossible and investigators learned that Eikelberger and Ceccarelli had been in a relationship prior to her murder.
Investigators stated the scene was suspicious and that the trajectory was consistent with a suspect standing in front of the victim and shooting — not suicide.
The gun and magazine had been found in Ceccarelli’s lap in a manner which also seemed suspicious, as if it had purposely been placed in that position, police said. The handgun was found lying on Ceccarelli’s right thigh with the ejection port facing down and the muzzle pointing away, according to investigative reports.
It was later determined that Eikelberger’s clothing contained gunshot residue.
During investigations, police located a receipt of purchase from a store earlier that day in Eikelberger’s possession. Officers reviewed the surveillance footage from the store, which showed Eikelberger and Ceccarelli together.
Ceccarelli’s mother was contacted by investigators, who said she’d received pictures and texts from Ceccarelli a month prior to her death, stating Eikelberger had threatened her with a gun. She said Ceccarelli had told her of an incident in which Eikelberger removed a gun from his vehicle’s center console and held it to her head during an argument in which Eikelberger blamed Ceccarelli for Eikelberger’s divorce from his ex-wife.
Investigators spoke to Eikelberger’s ex-wife, who confirmed she and her young children had experienced violence from Eikelberger. She said she filed for a restraining order after he threatened their children with a knife for not brushing their teeth and that he’d threatened to kill her for considering relocating out of state with their children, among multiple other incidences of threatening to kill her.
February 2018
A little over a year after Ceccarelli’s murder, Eikelberger was arrested on an open murder charge by the Reno Police Department.
The case was immediately transferred to Lyon County due to a conflict of interest: Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks’ family was friends with Eikelberger’s family.
Only five days after Eikelberger was arrested for open murder and Lyon County was handed the case, Lyon County released Eikelberger, stating they would not be filing any charges against him at that time.
At the time of his arrest, Lyon County Deputy District Attorney Jeremy Reichenberg said that the office wasn’t ready to charge the case, and refused to release any further information on their decision.
Lyon County DA Steve Rye has never publicly commented on the case.
Multiple news agencies have continuously questioned the decision for years, but Washoe County, the Reno Police Department, and Lyon County have all remained tight lipped on the decision not to charge Eikelberger with murder.
December 2022
On Dec. 9, 2022, Eikelberger was again taken into custody for the murder of Ceccarelli.
He was arrested by the Reno Police Department after a grand jury indictment granted a warrant for arrest.
His bail was set at $1 million, which he posted a few days after.
At this time, it has not yet been announced when the Supreme Court will hear Eikelberger’s claim his rights were violated.
Only after the Supreme Court judgment has been decided will the trial, potentially, be able to get back on track.
We will continue to provide updates on this case as they become available.
