Las Vegas Strip Mass Stabber May Face Death Penalty, Prosecutors Reveal

Posted on: January 9, 2025, 04:33h. 

Last updated on: January 9, 2025, 10:09h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

The man accused of fatally stabbing two victims and slashing six others on the Las Vegas Strip is reportedly possibly facing the death penalty if he’s convicted, according to court documents.

Yoni Barrios
Yoni Barrios, pictured above in a courtroom. He’s accused of killing two people and injuring six others. (Image: KSNV)

The defendant, Yoni Barrios, 34, who formerly resided in California, is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday for a hearing on 15 charges, including murder, attempted murder, battery, and terror, for the Oct. 6, 2022 stabbing spree.

Prosecutors May Soon Reveal Penalty

Prosecutors who are handling the case could reveal on Thursday whether they will seek the death penalty if they can get a conviction, according to Las Vegas TV station KLAS.

The incident began when Barrios approached street performers, who appeared as showgirls, near the Wynn Las Vegas. He asked them to pose for a photograph as he held a foot-long knife.

He claimed they refused and began to laugh at him. He responded by stabbing two of the performers, and then attacking another six people indiscriminately, prosecutors said.

Two of the victims, Brent Hallett, 47, of Canada, and Maris DiGiovanni, 30, of Las Vegas, both died from their wounds.

Initially, Barrios was ruled incompetent to stand trial. But last month, after two years of treatment at a psychiatric hospital, Clark County District Court Judge Christy Craig ruled him competent to stand trial, and he was indicted by a Clark County grand jury.

Craig concluded that Barrios now understands the charges against him and can assist lawyers in his defense.

The surviving victims of the attack later said the women weren’t laughing at him, but were frightened of the situation, according to news reports.

Barrios was apprehended by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers after the attacks. He told the police he was residing in California, and was trying to sell knives to earn enough money so he could travel back home, according to KLAS.

Shortly before the stabbings, Barrios attempted to get a janitor’s job at the Wynn Las Vegas, KLAS reported.

Illegal Immigrant

It also was reported by the New York Post that Barrios had worked previously as a stripper. He also was identified as an illegal immigrant into the US from Guatemala, the Post reported.

On Oct. 8, 2023, during a well-attended campaign rally in Minden, Nev., Donald Trump called Barrios a “sadistic murderer” who went on a “heinous” stabbing spree.

The perpetrator was an illegal alien with a criminal record a mile long in California,” Trump added. “But the bloodthirsty killer was unknown to law enforcement because of California’s barbaric sanctuary city policies.”

Nevada allows for some convicts to be executed. The last time Nevada executed a convict was in 2006, with the execution of Daryl Mack, who was convicted of a 1988 sexual assault and murder in Reno.