Las Vegas stabbing suspect Yoni Barrios appears in court
The man accused of stabbing six people and killing two during an unprovoked attack along the Las Vegas Strip appeared in court on Oct. 11, 2022.
The man accused of stabbing six people and killing two during an unprovoked attack along the Las Vegas Strip was ordered to remain held without bail on Tuesday at least until his January preliminary hearing, according to reports from inside the courtroom.
Yoni Barrios, a 32-year-old Guatemalan national who was allegedly in the country illegally, wore shackles and a blue jail-issued jumpsuit for his Tuesday morning court appearance, where he declined his right to have a preliminary hearing within 15 days, local affiliate FOX 5 Vegas reported. He will instead make his initial appearance on Jan. 12, 2023.
Barrios stabbed eight people – a mix of tourists and residents – just after 11:40 a.m. Thursday on the sidewalk near the Wynn Las Vegas, police said. Two people, identified as Las Vegas residents Brent Allan Hallett, 47, and Maris Mareen DiGiovanni, 30, could not be saved, officials said.
He was charged with two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon, police said.
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A public defender who was recently appointed to Barrios asked that the court refrain from handling the question of bail until Barrios’ January preliminary appearance, according to the report. The attorney also raised the possible issue of Barrios’ competency.
According to FOX 5, Barrios told investigators he thought a group of showgirls, many of whom he allegedly attacked, were "laughing at him."
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS A GRAPHIC IMAGE
Image shows an apparent victim of the Las Vegas stabbing on Oct. 6, 2022. (Pierre Fandrich/Local News X /TMX)
Las Vegas Metro Police Department Deputy Chief James LaRochelle said the attack appeared "unprovoked" and there was "no altercation beforehand." Barrios allegedly used a "large knife with a long blade."
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One of the surviving victims, a showgirl named Anna Westby, suffered a punctured lung from a stab wound to her back during the attack, Inside Edition reported.
Yoni Barrios, the man accused of stabbing eight people, killing two, during an unprovoked attack along the Las Vegas Strip, appeared in court on Oct. 11, 2022. (KVVU Las Vegas)
The 26-year-old worked with DiGiovanni, a fellow showgirl and former teacher who succumbed to the attack. She described how Barrios approached their group and said "he was a new chef, that he had created this new brand of knives with his chef business," she told "Inside Edition."
He then asked the girls "to take a photo with his logo," Westby said.
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"I gave [Maris] that look of like, ‘Is this too much?’" Westby recalled, "And as soon as I looked at her and we exchanged that look, for a moment, did not say anything, he grabbed the knife and stabbed Maris directly in the heart."
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Friday, DiGiovanni’s brother, Gage DiGiovanni, wrote that his sister "loved the beauty of life, and lived it to fullest without limitations.
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"She was an authentic and caring friend, a devoted wife, a kick-ass sister, and a loving daughter," he wrote. "Maris always saw the best in people, always gave them a chance, and always accepted people for who they were. Her huge capacity for love lead (sic) her to have lasting friendships from all over the world. She was a beautiful spirit and soul, and we will miss her for the rest of our lives. She was a light to the world."
His family has since created a GoFundMe page to put toward funeral expenses and other costs.
Fox News' Bill Melugin, Louis Casiano and Jeff Zymeri contributed to this report.
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