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Thread: Harold Montague Pleads Guilty but Mentally Ill and Gets LWOP in 2010 Ax Murder of Infant

  1. #1
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    Harold Montague Pleads Guilty but Mentally Ill and Gets LWOP in 2010 Ax Murder of Infant




    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.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20100216/ap_tr_ge/us_travel_brief_ax_attack_vegas_1

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    The Clark County District Attorney’s office announced this week it will pursue the death penalty if guilty verdicts are delivered in three high-profile cases.
    They include Harold Montage, a Las Vegas man charged with killing a baby with an ax and critically wounding the child’s mother and his sister-in-law.Survey: Does Harold Montague Deserve The Death Penalty If Convicted?Prosecutors also cited the case against Gregory Hover and Richard Freeman. The men are accused of committing a series of robberies and killing two people, including a 21-year-old woman who worked at the Hooters Hotel and Casino.The third case involves the beating death of a 68-year-old man in October. Will Sitton, 46, faces charges including murder, robbery and burglary.

    http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/23231519/detail.html

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    Defendant pleads not guilty by insanity in Vegas ax attack case; death penalty trial date set

    LAS VEGAS - A 34-year-old man has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges that he hacked a 4-month-old baby to death and critically wounded the infant's mother with a medieval-style battle ax.

    Clark County District Court Judge Stefany Miley on Monday set a June 2011 trial date for Harold Montague.

    Montague could face the death penalty if convicted of charges including murder, attempted murder and battery with a deadly weapon in the Feb. 11 attack outside his Las Vegas home.

    Montague also stands accused of stabbing his disabled sister-in-law before bursting outside and attacking the child and the mother walking a stroller past his house.

    Defense lawyer Norm Reed says Montague understands the charges against him, but a jury will see he's criminally insane.

    http://www.startribune.com/nation/92685334.html

  4. #4
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    December 6, 2013

    Defense bolsters its case for insanity plea in 2010 ax-slaying of infant


    By Bethany Barnes

    Harold Montague believed he was communicating directly with God when he used a medieval style battle-ax to attack a mother and kill her 4-month-old baby in 2010 on a Las Vegas residential street, according to a psychiatrist who testified Friday in Clark County District Court.

    Montague, 37, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the Feb. 11, 2010, attack that left Sandra Lissett Castro critically injured and her infant son, Damian, dead. Among the charges Montague faces is capital murder.

    Castro was walking her son on San Pedro Avenue, near South Maryland Parkway and Sahara Avenue nearly four years ago when the seemingly random midday attack occurred. Montague is also accused of stabbing his disabled sister-in-law, Monica O'Dazier, multiple times with the pointed end of the battle-ax on the same day as the attack on the Castros. O’Dazier and Montague shared a home near where Castro and her son were attacked.

    Reno psychiatrist Dr. Tom Bittker, an expert for the defense, testified in Friday’s evidentiary hearing about findings from his interviews with Montague.

    While Montague has received various diagnoses of psychosis, it’s clear he has psychotic thought and mood disorders, Bittker testified. Montague’s mental illness has improved with treatment but still persists, Bittker added.

    Bittker said he believed Montague was in the midst of a psychotic episode when he committed the crimes. Until that 2010 day, Montague thought he was in direct communication with God — and God had a special mission for him — Bittker testified.

    Montague doesn't remember the incident, Bittker said, adding it is not uncommon for someone so horrified by an event to block it from his or her memory.

    While Montague originally felt remorse over the attacks, Bittker noted that remorse now is "quite profound." Asked what he attributed the increased remorse to, Bittker said it was probably a result of Montague's medication.

    Bittker said he believed Montague's mental illness went untreated until he was incarcerated.

    Bittker testified Montague's childhood was one of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Both of Montague's parents were substance abusers, and when Montague was 6 his father was murdered, according to Bittker's testimony.

    Montague didn't finish fifth grade, and he grew up in and out of a juvenile detention center. As an adult, Montague struggled to hold a job, drifting from working as a caregiver, caretaker and bouncer, Bittker said.

    Friday’s hearing was to lay the groundwork to establish that Montague is mentally ill, said Norm Reed, Montague’s attorney and a deputy public defender. Judge Douglas Herndon presided over the hearing, filling in for Judge Stefany Miley. It will be up to Miley to rule later whether Montague is persistently mentally ill.

    "It was important for us to put on the record that Harold is mentally ill well in advance of trial so that doesn't become an issue,” Reed said.

    Montague is facing the death penalty, and Reed said he is hopeful a plea agreement can be reached in the case.

    “I don’t think Harold should be executed because he’s so mentally ill that he does this crazy horrific act,” Reed said.

    Prosecutors have not called their own experts to testify about Montague’s mental state and did not cross-examine Bittker.

    During a preliminary hearing in 2010, Dr. Lisa Gavin, a medical examiner with the Clark County Corner's Office, said every bone in Damian Castro’s head was fractured as a result of three chop wounds – one on the forehead, one near the right ear and one on the back right of the head.

    Montague, who appeared in standard blue jail attire and was shackled during the hearing, is due back in court Feb. 5. He remains in the Clark County Detention Center without bond.

    http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2013...ea-2010-ax-sl/

  5. #5
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    Ax murderer pleads guilty but mentally ill in 2010 baby killing

    By FRANCIS McCABE
    LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

    It was a murder that shocked Las Vegas.

    On Feb. 11, 2010, Harold Montague left his southeast valley home armed with a battle ax and attacked a woman and her baby as they strolled down the street.

    Four-month-old Damian Avila Castro was killed and his mother, Sandra Castro, was severely injured. He also stabbed his mentally and physically disabled sister-in-law, Monica O’Dazier 20 times while she was in his home on San Pedro Avenue, near Sahara Avenue and Maryland Parkway.

    And before he was taken into custody, Montague attacked a Las Vegas police officer.

    On Wednesday, Montague, 38, agreed to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole when he pleaded guilty but mentally ill to first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon, two counts of attempted murder and battery on a police officer.

    As part of the deal, Clark County prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty against Montague.

    Deputy Public Defender Norm Reed said Montague plans to offer a full apology at his July 30 sentencing to the victims and their families for what he did and try and explain his delusions.

    “He wants to tell his perspective. He wants to apologize and talk about the delusion and how it went down,” Reed said.

    Reed said it was a long process to get to the plea agreement but “everybody recognizes he’s mentally ill and that life in prison is the right sentence in this case.”

    Prosecutor Giancarlo Pesci declined to comment.

    Since early in the case, Reed has maintained that Montague suffered from severe delusions and mental illness.

    Montague had exhibited bizarre and unusual behavior in the weeks leading up to the incident.

    During a hearing in 2010, Montague’s wife, Erricca, testified that her husband had not slept for at least three days before the attacks and that he was not properly eating or hydrating himself.

    She said she would wake up at night to find him pacing in their home.

    During the harrowing hearing four years ago, Castro, who suffered severe scarring from the attack, testified that she begged her attacker to stop. “I was begging him to let me go. He was mocking me. Every time he would hit me, he would laugh out loud,” she said.

    A neighbor, Teresa Garner, who called 911 after seeing the attack from her bedroom window, ran out from her home and confronted Montague causing him to flee.

    Garner recalled seeing “evil in his eyes,” when she confronted Montague.

    Garner described the condition of the two victims after the attack. Castro’s mouth had been split, and her lower jaw was down on her chest, Garner said. Castro’s face was covered in blood. “Her face was gone,” Garner said.

    Montague, who was supposed to be caring for his mentally and physically disabled sister-in-law, stabbed her first in their home. He then ran outside and attacked Castro and her son as they walked to the store.

    A police officer testified that as he was attacked by Montague, the defendant yelled, “It’s God’s will.” Police subdued him with a Taser.

    Montague remains at the county jail pending his sentencing hearing before District Judge Stefany Miley.

    http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/la...0-baby-killing

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