In 2022, disturbing footage captured the moment an illegal Guatemalan immigrant stabbed two people, including a showgirl, to death during a knife attack on Las Vegas' iconic Strip.
Yoni Barrios, a 34-year-old Guatemalan national, held showgirl Maris DiGiovanni and bystander Brent Hallett about a foot apart as a grand jury prepares to hear multiple charges, including terrorism. It is suspected that he was killed with a kitchen knife.
Barrios identified himself as a chef and asked to take a photo with the performer and the knife on October 6, 2022. According to KLAS.
According to a police report obtained by the newspaper, he became belligerent because he believed the showgirls were laughing at him because of his clothing.
Barrios, wearing a white shirt and black pants, was seen chasing DiGiovanni, who was wearing a red feather, outside the Wynn Las Vegas, sprinted across the block and tried to stab her, before driving a knife through her heart. He stabbed him and caused a fatal wound.
DiGiovanni died in the arms of one of the other showgirls, Anna Westby. Anna Westby suffered a punctured lung in the attack.
“He pulled out a knife and made it look like he was imitating it to us,” Westby told the Post in 2022. “All four of us looked at each other and were about to make a decision…this is just too weird.” Do you agree with this? Before we could say anything. He grabbed a knife and stabbed Maris in the heart. ”
Another showgirl, Victoria Cayetano, was also injured in the attack.
The knife-wielding attacker, who had come to the hotel to sell the knife for money to return to Guatemala, ran down the sidewalk where he attacked seven other people, including Hallett.
Hallett, 47, was stabbed in the back and died.
Hallett, who lived in Canada, had returned to Las Vegas for the holidays with his wife, Carmelita, 23 years after getting married there. CBC reported.
Police stopped Barrios' rampage at the Venetian Expo by tackling him inside the convention center across the street from the Wynn.
Barrios was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder.
Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani claimed during Tuesday's grand jury hearing that Barrios attacked the victim “indiscriminately,” according to KLAS.
In December 2022, a judge ruled Barrios unfit to stand trial and ordered him admitted to a state hospital, where he will be determined competent to stand trial in December, according to court records reviewed by The Post. He was detained for two years.
After a court hearing, Barrios was indicted by a grand jury on 15 felonies, including one count of terrorism, two counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder, and six counts of possession of a deadly weapon.
His arraignment will continue in court Thursday, and if convicted, prosecutors could announce seeking the death penalty for Barrios, KLAS reported.
