Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Handout/KLAS
Topics: US News, Crime, True crime, Las Vegas, Mental Health
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: US News, Crime, True crime, Las Vegas, Mental Health
Warning: This article contains descriptions of knife crime and violence which some readers may find distressing.
A man accused of the 2022 Las Vegas knife attack which left two dead is now set to stand trial.
On October 6 2022, showgirl Maris Digiovanni and Brent Hallet were fatally stabbed and six others were also injured near the Wynn hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
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The attack - which took place in broad daylight - was captured on CCTV footage and a 32-year-old man named Yoni Barrios was later arrested and charged with two counts of open murder with a deadly weapon and six counts of attempted murder.
In December 2022, a judge found him unfit to stand trial, however, after two years in a psychiatric hospital, Barrios is now facing trial and if convicted, could face the death penalty.
A police report obtained by The Post alleged that Barrios approached Digiovanni and her friends and 'became angry' because he 'thought the women were laughing at him and making fun of his clothing'.
He then began 'stabbing' Digiovanni 'in the chest' and 'after which he began stabbing the other women in the group as they ran away,' the report continues.
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Barrios reportedly told officers he then started looking for other people 'to let his anger out,' and was accused of going on to fatally stab Brent Hallet.
The report states: "Barrios stated he was hoping officers would shoot him."
Surveillance footage from Wynn Casino was later obtained by police revealing the horrific extent of the attack.
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The recording shows a man leaving Wynn Casino at around 11:39am, approaching the showgirls and stabbing Digiovanni at around 11:41am, 3News reports.
Another of the showgirls posing for photographs on the Las Vegas Strip who was stabbed, Anna Westby, told ABC13 KTNV: "He went into his bag, pulled out a cloth, and then unfolded that cloth… and it was a knife.
"He grabbed the knife [...] and stabbed Maris in the heart. Then Victoria ran and he chased [her] and stabbed her in the back."
When Westby tried to run away, she was similarly attacked.
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After being shown of an image of a knife recovered from the scene, Barrios reportedly confirmed to police it was the one he used in the attack.
Barrios is since reported as having been charged with 15 felony counts including an act of terrorism, 3News reports.
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Yesterday (January 8), Clark County District Attorney's Office filed a notice of intent to seek capital punishment against Barrios if he's convicted.
Barrios' arraignment hearing is reportedly set to take place today (January 9).