Suspect in Strip stabbing charged with murder, attempted murder

A man suspected of stabbing eight people, two of them fatally, on the Strip was formally charged Tuesday with two counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder.

At a brief court hearing, a public defender was appointed for Yoni Barrios, 32.

Barrios is accused of stabbing several women posing as showgirls with tourists Thursday in unprovoked attacks outside Wynn Las Vegas, on the 3100 block of Las Vegas Boulevard South, police said.

Maris DiGiovanni, 30, of Las Vegas, and Brent Hallett, 47, of Alberta, Canada, died from their stab wounds.

During Tuesday’s two-minute hearing, Deputy Public Defender Scott Coffee said his office would begin evaluating if Barrios was competent to stand trial. He is being held without bail.

Barrios told police he wanted to “let the anger” out after he felt people were laughing at him for wanting to take a photo with the women dressed as showgirls, according to an arrest report from the Metropolitan Police Department.

After the hearing, Coffee said Barrios was from Guatemala, but he did not know if Barrios was a U.S. citizen.

“To be honest, the questions about competency, I’m not even sure he could answer those questions,” Coffee said.

Coffee said Barrios would begin interviews with psychologists shortly. Coffee hoped to have a determination about Barrios ability to stand trial before a preliminary hearing, which is scheduled for Jan. 12.

“In order to move forward with a court proceeding, a person has to be competent to assist counsel,” Coffee said. “There’s some concerns whether or not Mr. Barrios is competent.”

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.