LAS VEGAS — Chad Ollinger, a star on the Discovery Channel’s reality television show “Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch” since the series debuted in 2021, is accused of murdering his cellmate, authorities said.
Ollinger, 41, of Dumas, Texas, was charged with open murder approximately two weeks before he was to be released from the Clark County Detention Center in Nevada, where he had been serving a contempt of court charge since Dec. 18.
According to Clark County Detention Center records, Ollinger was arrested on Oct. 27 after being identified as a fugitive from another state.
On Dec. 6 at approximately 11:20 PT, corrections officers were conducting routine checks when they found Christopher Kelly, 42, “lying motionless inside of a cell,” according to a news release from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Kelly, who was Ollinger’s cellmate, was “suffering from apparent blunt force injuries.” He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the news release, investigators learned that “a physical altercation occurred” between the two men inside the cell.
Ollinger was subsequently charged with open murder. The open charge means that prosecutors will determine at a later date whether it is first- or second-degree murder.
He is the son of Duane Ollinger, an oil and gas entrepreneur who owns the Blind Frog Ranch in eastern Utah. The reality TV series follows the father-son duo as they explore the property, hoping to uncover gold they believe is buried on the land.
Police in Amarillo, Texas, arrested Chad Ollinger in November 2024 for evading arrest with a vehicle. The younger Ollinger was arrested again in Texas in February for driving with an invalid license with previous convictions and was booked into the Gray County Jail.
Ollinger’s next scheduled hearing is set for Tuesday.
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