Defense lawyer: State likely to seek death penalty in Vegas ax attack that killed 4-month-old

Lawyer expects ax attack to be death penalty case

LAS VEGAS — A lawyer for a man accused of killing a 4-month-old baby and critically wounding the child’s mother with a medieval-style battle ax said Tuesday he expects the state will seek the death penalty against his 33-year-old client.

A bruised and subdued Harold E. Montague said little as he stood in shackles and jail scrubs in the back row of a Las Vegas courtroom during his arraignment.

“This is potentially a capital case,” defense lawyer Norm Reed said as he asked Justice of the Peace Melanie Andress-Tobiasson to postpone for two weeks scheduling an evidentiary hearing so he could talk to his client.

Montague entered no plea to one charge of murder with a deadly weapon and three charges of attempted murder with a deadly weapon before the judge ordered him held without bail at the Clark County jail in Las Vegas pending another appearance March 3.

Clark County prosecutor Giancarlo Pesci said it could be several weeks before District Attorney David Roger and an advisory panel decide whether to seek the death penalty.

Montague is accused of stabbing his profoundly disabled sister-in-law at least 20 times in their home with a point of the ax, then bursting outside and attacking a mother walking past on the street with her son in a stroller.

Police said Montague retreated back to the house before officers arrived, then charged outside again, empty-handed, taunting police to fight. Montague is accused of trying to wrest a shotgun from the hands of one officer. The officer was later treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Reed said outside court he was concerned about his client’s physical condition after he appeared in court with scrapes, bruises and a black eye. He said it appeared the injuries occurred during the arrest.

“We’re not sure what medical treatment he’s received,” Reed said.

Police said Montague was treated at a hospital following his arrest, then taken to jail.

During the arraignment, Pesci raised the issue of Montague’s mental state. But Reed said he hadn’t had time yet to assess Montague’s fitness to face charges.

A hospital spokesman said Tuesday the sister-in-law, Monica O’Dazier, 36, remained in good condition at University Medical Center in Las Vegas.

No information was available about the condition of the 28-year-old mother, Sandra Lisset Castro. Authorities said she was struck in the head and face several times with the blade of the ax. She was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center with head injuries that police and witnesses described as critical and disfiguring.

Police say Montague did not know Castro or her son, identified as Damien Avila-Castro. A neighbor said the woman often walked the stroller through the neighborhood about a mile east of Las Vegas Boulevard.