LV mutilation case before high court

Attorneys for the woman convicted of killing and mutilating a homeless man asked the Nevada Supreme Court to throw out her most recent conviction or grant her a new trial.

Kirstin Lobato, 25, should have her voluntary manslaughter conviction thrown out because a police detective testified at her most recent trial that she "minimized" her involvement in the slaying of Duran Bailey, said JoNell Thomas, an attorney with the Special Public Defenders unit.

She said the detective wasn't allowed to express an opinion on whether Lobato was telling the truth. That's the role of the jury, she said.

"This case is a travesty," she said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Sandra DiGiacomo, who originally prosecuted Lobato, said the detective was only discussing the investigation and wasn't talking about the truth of Lobato's statements.

Lobato was accused of killing Bailey, 44, a homeless man known for trading drugs for sex who lived in a trash bin. Lobato, then 19, was believed to be on a three-day methamphetamine binge when she killed Bailey in Las Vegas, beat him and cut off his penis, authorities said.

Days before the slaying, an acquaintance who used drugs with Bailey accused him of sexual assault. The woman later died.

A jury convicted Lobato of murder with use of a deadly weapon and penetration of a dead body in 2002. District Judge Valorie Vega sentenced her to 40 to 100 years in prison.

Before her conviction, Lobato rejected a plea agreement that would have given her three years in prison.

Two years later, the Nevada Supreme Court granted Lobato a new trial. The court ruled that Vega should have given Lobato the chance to present evidence challenging the credibility of a jailhouse informant who testified against her.

A jury convicted Lobato of voluntary manslaughter in her second trial in 2006 and Vega sentenced her to 13 years to 45 years in prison. During her second trial, her attorneys said Lobato was attacked by a man who tried to rape her. They said she took a knife, slashed at his penis and then fled.

Lobato suffered extensive sexual abuse as a 5-year-old by her mother's boyfriend and again at ages 13 and 17. She has supporters who maintain Web sites dedicated to her.

Justices James Hardesty, Ron Parraguirre and Michael Douglas heard the arguments at UNLV's Boyd School of Law's Moot Courtroom. Justices typically issue rulings several weeks or months after hearing arguments.