No Death Penalty for Illegal Immigrant in Las Vegas Stabbing Case

A man responsible for a coldblooded unprovoked attack against eight people on the Las Vegas Strip that resulted in the death of two will likely serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Stabber Kills Two, Pleads Guilty to 15 Charges

That’s the case of Yoni Barrios, a 34-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala, who murdered two people and injured six others in Las Vegas back in 2022. The man, who was initially deemed unfit for trial due to a mental health disorder, received treatment and only recently, pleaded guilty to a number of counts.

As announced by the New York Times, the man pleaded guilty to a total of 15 charges on Thursday. Barrios pleaded guilty but mentally ill to two counts of murder. Further charges the knife-wielding attacker admitted include five counts of attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon, as well as one count of an act of terrorism, among others.

The brutal and unprovoked attack cost the lives of two victims, a 47-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman. As suggested by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the male victim, Brent Allan Hallett, was a resident of Alberta, Canada, and while traveling across the world decided to stay in Sin City for a while. The second victim, 30-year-old Maris Mareen Digiovanni, was described as a showgirl impersonator who lived in Las Vegas.

The two victims suffered from fatal wounds inflicted by a knife that Barrios held. The attack happened at the 3100 block of South Las Vegas Boulevard where the immigrant from Guatemala started to randomly stab people on the street. As noted, six other people were wounded but survived the stabbings.

The Man Was Delusional During the Knife Attack

The cold-blooded attack on October 6, 2022, captured the attention of a range of anti-immigration groups and far-right formations. Even Donald Trump mentioned the attack during a political rally in Nevada around the same time.

Per media reports, this wasn’t the attacker’s first trouble with the law. In 2018, Barrios attacked a family member, resulting in domestic violence charges from 2019. However, those charges were eventually dropped, and the man was never punished.

Scott L. Coffee, the attorney defending Barrios, revealed last week that his client was “delusional” when the attack occurred. “The allegations were egregious, but the state also recognized that he was somebody who was severely mentally ill,” the defense attorney explained.

A sentence for Barrios is expected to be handed in by a court on March 14, 2025. He is likely to receive life in prison without the possibility of parole. Still, Barrios may dodge a potential death penalty and spend the rest of his days behind bars.