The Cuban doctor José Emilio Galán Preval, 46 years old and originally from Santiago de Cuba, was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, accused of murdering his partner, reportedly also Cuban and from Palma Soriano, during a violent argument inside his home on January 23, 2026.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department of Las Vegas (LVMPD), officers responded to a report of a stabbing around 12:56 p.m. in the 1800 block of Canosa Avenue, near Eastern and Sahara Avenues.
Upon arrival, the officers found the woman with multiple stab wounds. According to police statements gathered by news3lv.com, the woman was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she died shortly after due to her injuries.
The alleged assailant was located and taken into custody without incident. He remains held at the Clark County Detention Center, formally charged with open homicide with a deadly weapon. According to the police, the crime occurred in the context of a domestic dispute.
Sources cited in social media and independent media indicated that both Galán Preval and the victim had deserted from a Cuban medical mission in Venezuela before settling in the United States. This editorial team has not been able to verify these claims.
Galán Preval worked as an optometrist, while the victim (named Yaimara, with her last names currently unknown at the time of writing this note) was employed as a rehabilitation specialist.
On his public Facebook profile, the doctor is listed as a resident of Santiago de Cuba and originally from Palma Soriano, with training from the Higher Institute of Medical Sciences of Santiago de Cuba, Faculty 2, under the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP). These references align with his professional background within the Cuban healthcare system.
Additionally, on another personal Facebook account, the accused lists himself as a licensed Optometrist and Optician from the University of Medical Sciences of Santiago de Cuba, and states that he lived in Clarksville, Tennessee, before moving to Las Vegas. On that same profile, last updated on December 4, 2023, he presents himself as single and shares recent-looking photos taken in the United States.
The presence of two active accounts suggests a transition process between cities, consistent with information shared by local media regarding their journey through various states after arriving in the country in 2023.
In one of his posts from March 28, 2025, Galán Preval himself wrote that “he has moved to Las Vegas,” confirming that he had been residing there for at least nine months prior to the crime. None of his Facebook accounts—active at the time of writing this note—had any photos of the victim and his alleged partner.
In his oldest profile, the doctor shared several photographs in 2014 alongside two girls whom he referred to as "my princesses" and "my little ones," which seems to indicate that he is the father of two daughters. These posts date back to his time in Cuba, before emigrating.
Galán Preval refused to appear before the court at his first hearing, scheduled for Saturday, January 24, and his next court date has been set for Tuesday. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, according to Nevada state laws.
The Clark County Coroner's Office will be responsible for officially confirming the victim's identity and the cause of death, although social media identifies her as Yaimara, a Cuban from Palma Soriano who also worked in the healthcare sector.
This new case of domestic violence has caused shock among the Cuban community in exile, particularly among health professionals who left the regime's missions to rebuild their lives outside the island.
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