A Texas college student who stabbed her online date in retaliation for the 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed an Iranian military leader will not spend time in jail.
Nika Nikoubin, 23, was indicted on attempted murder, battery with a deadly weapon and burglary after she stabbed her date, Daniel Trevino, in the neck while they had sex in a Las Vegas hotel room in March 2022. She later agreed to plead guilty to two counts of false imprisonment with a deadly weapon.
Judge Carli Kierny sentenced Nikoubin to serve three year's probation on Wednesday. Nikoubin, who immigrated to the U.S. from Iran when was 12, told the court she suffers from mental health issues including diagnoses for severe depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, KLAS news reported.
Nikoubin reportedly met Trevino on the dating platform Plenty of Fish and the two rented a room together at the Sunset Station hotel. While in the room, KLAS reported, the two started to have sex when Nikoubin blindfolded Trevino, turned off the lights and stabbed him in the neck with a knife.
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"I have the scars to show for it," Trevino said in court, according to KLAS.
Prosecutors reportedly showed a grand jury two puncture wounds on Trevino's neck. Nikoubin's defense attorney had argued the attempted murder charge was inappropriate, pointing out her client did not intend to kill her date, writing, "Nikoubin specifically stated she did not wish to kill [the victim], but only wanted to ‘hurt him.’"
Trevino, who spoke with investigators on the night of the stabbing, told the judge he has forgiven Nikoubin "but whatever the law decides to do, that's up to the law."
A report filed by the Henderson Police Department said Nikoubin stabbed Trevino for revenge against U.S. troops for killing Qassem Soleimani in a drone attack in January 2020.
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"I mean the U.S. killed Soleimani. Lots of blood spilled," she reportedly told police officers before her arrest. "So, I feel like, it’s fair that American blood be spilled."
Nikoubin's lawyer argued in court those statements about Soleimani were part of a psychotic episode, KLAS reported.
"I was raped when I was 18 years old by another student," Nikoubin told the judge. "At the time, I did not fully realize the impact that this experience had on me and my mental health deteriorated."
She described her stay in a mental health facility for 10 days before she came to Las Vegas and encountered Trevino.
"I was diagnosed with a number of disorders including severe depression, schizophrenia, and bi-polar disorder," she said. "These diagnoses were deeply upsetting to me and, truthfully, I was in denial. While I was prescribed medication to treat my disorders, I initially struggled to properly follow my treatment regimen."
She apologized to Trevino, saying, "Most importantly your honor, I want to express my deepest apologies to the victim, Daniel, and to the state of Nevada, for the harm that I have caused."
Kierny permitted Nikoubin to serve her probation in Texas.
