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Crime

32-year-old Yoni Barrios entered the Wynn Las Vegas Resort on the morning of October 6th, 2022. He made contact with an employee, asking about job opportunities, and later asked them to call ICE so he could be sent back to his native Guatemala. He also told a security guard he wanted to sell some knives. His odd behavior led to him being escorted out of the casino.

Just outside the Wynn, he ran into several showgirls. He whipped out a one-foot-long kitchen knife and asked the showgirls to take a picture with him holding the knife. The girls felt uncomfortable.

Barrios didn’t like their demeanor and felt they were laughing at or disrespecting him, something one of the surviving showgirls later denied.

Barrios went on a rampage, slicing and stabbing anyone in his path as he ran South down the strip and then turned East, running toward the Venetian Conference Center.

Eventually, police and security got their hands on him and put an end to the violence.

47-year-old tourist Brent Hallett and 30-year-old showgirl Maris DiGiovanni died from stab wounds, and six others were injured. Barrios was charged with two counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder.

Legal Proceedings

Barrios was found incompetent and sent to a mental hospital for two years before he was declared competent to stand trial.

He was facing death if he was convicted, but he decided not to go to trial.

According to 8newsnow, he pleaded guilty but mentally ill to terrorism and murder in January 2025. When he returned to court for sentencing in April 2025, he spoke saying, “I just want to say from the bottom of my heart that I’m sorry.”

The judge sentenced him to life without parole.