A man accused of killing two people and wounding six more in a mass stabbing on the Las Vegas Strip pleaded guilty but mentally ill on Thursday.
Yoni Barrios, 34, copped to two counts of murder, one count of terrorism and six counts of attempted murder, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. In exchange, prosecutors took the death penalty off the table, and Barrios agreed to a sentence of life in prison without parole.
Barrios was arrested after a short foot chase following the October 2022 attack. His plea will allow him to receive mental health treatment while behind bars, according to the Review-Journal.
“The plea recognizes what everybody in the system knew — that this was the result of mental illness that caused paranoia,” defense attorney Scott Coffee told the paper.
On Oct. 6, 2022, Barrios asked a group of showgirls for a picture outside the Wynn and Encore hotels on Las Vegas Blvd. He claimed he was a chef, carried a kitchen knife and wore a white apron.
After posing for the photo, Barrios stabbed four showgirls and four other people on the Strip, then attempted to sprint away from the scene. He was quickly tracked down by authorities.
Showgirl Maris DiGiovanni, 30, and tourist Brent Hallett, 47, from Alberta, Canada, were killed in the attack.
After his arrest, Barrios told police he thought the showgirls were laughing at him and his chef’s outfit. Witnesses have disputed that account.
With News Wire Services
