The images helped investigators reconstruct the final moments before Mark Gaughan was shot while photographing Allysandra Blea.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Instant photos from a gun-themed shoot became key evidence after Allysandra Blea fatally shot Mark Gaughan outside a Las Vegas home and later pleaded guilty in his death.
The images mattered because they captured the seconds around a shooting Blea first described as accidental. Police said Gaughan, 23, was taking pictures as Blea posed with a firearm near a vehicle. Prosecutors later used the photos, witness accounts and Blea’s online gun posts to argue the case was not only a tragic mistake. Blea, 20, pleaded guilty to first-degree kidnapping and involuntary manslaughter after initially facing an open murder charge.
According to police and court records, the gathering centered on stylized pictures with props and costumes. Blea wore camouflage and a bloody corset. The group first posed inside near a mounted deer head, with Gaughan using a Polaroid camera to take pictures of Blea and Maverick Crafts. Crafts later said the group thought the scene fit a hunters theme. When Gaughan said only two pictures remained, they went outside to change the background. The camera flash became part of the record because Crafts said she saw one picture print before the second loud flash sounded and Gaughan fell.
Investigators later described two Polaroids found at the scene. One showed Blea with another woman who held a knife while Blea held a black firearm pointed near her mouth, according to the probable cause account. The image also showed Blea’s finger on the trigger. Another photo also showed her with her finger on the trigger, investigators said. The pictures did not by themselves show the trigger pull that killed Gaughan. They did show how the firearm was being handled moments before the shooting and gave detectives a fixed record to compare with witness statements.
The fatal shot was reported at about 4:47 a.m. Aug. 23 in the 1000 block of Nassau Drive. Officers found Gaughan lying on the sidewalk with an apparent gunshot wound to the neck. Police said they began lifesaving aid and continued until medical crews arrived. Gaughan was pronounced dead at the scene. Homicide detectives took over and learned he had been taking pictures of Blea as she posed with the weapon. Blea made the emergency call and told the dispatcher it was an accidental shooting. The investigation soon focused on whether the gun’s condition and Blea’s conduct supported criminal charges.
A fourth person in the home told police he had earlier removed the magazine and cleared the chamber because he had experience from working at a gun store. That statement created one of the case’s main factual questions. If the gun had been cleared, someone later had to make it capable of firing. Court records said Blea and the other woman suggested that Gaughan put the gun back together while they changed for the pictures. The public record does not establish every step that followed. Prosecutors still charged Blea, pointing to the shooting itself, the handling shown in the photos and other statements gathered during the investigation.
The state also used the photos to connect the scene to Blea’s broader pattern of posing with guns. Police said her online accounts showed her with handguns, revolvers and rifles in staged images. Some showed firearms pressed against her head or against stuffed animals’ heads. Investigators said she discussed owning guns, building an arsenal and shooting people. One comment quoted in the case record said, “I wish I could shoot people with real guns and get away with it.” Defense attorneys described the posts as dark humor and said jurors could be unfairly swayed by material that looked shocking but did not prove murder.
The relationship between Blea and Gaughan supplied another part of the prosecution story. Crafts told a grand jury that Gaughan thought Blea was his girlfriend, while Blea did not see the relationship that way. Crafts said Blea questioned how Gaughan spoke about her to his friends and said she did not understand why he thought they were dating. Crafts said Blea was “disgusted” that he used the girlfriend label. That testimony did not replace the physical evidence. It gave prosecutors context for the moments before the group moved outside and for the tension they said existed before the fatal photo.
Blea’s guilty plea changed the courtroom questions. A murder trial would have forced prosecutors to prove the killing under a higher theory while fighting over which images, posts and statements a jury could hear. The plea avoided that trial. Blea admitted to kidnapping Gaughan for the purpose of causing substantial bodily harm or death and to killing him without intending to do so. The two admissions sit beside each other in the final case record, one describing a serious felony tied to harm and the other describing an unlawful killing without intent.
Sentencing is the next legal step. Prosecutors agreed to recommend five years to life in prison on the kidnapping conviction. They did not oppose letting the manslaughter sentence run at the same time. The judge is not limited to the public descriptions of the Polaroids, but the images are likely to remain important because they show how close the gun was to the poses and how it was being held shortly before the shot. Prosecutors may argue the images support a severe sentence. Defense lawyers may argue the manslaughter plea shows the fatal act was not intentional.
The case also shows how a few physical items can shape a homicide investigation. The Polaroid camera, the printed images, the firearm and the sidewalk location gave police a framework before witness testimony filled in the words and movements. Crafts provided the account of the camera flashes. The fourth person described clearing the gun. Blea provided the first emergency call. Together, those pieces turned a reported accident into a prosecution that ended with felony pleas rather than a jury verdict.
For now, Blea’s sentencing is scheduled for July 29. Until then, the court record stands on the plea, the Nassau Drive timeline and the instant photos that documented the shoot before Gaughan was killed.
Author note: Last updated July 6, 2026.