A college student has been sentenced to three years probation for stabbing her blind date at a hotel near Las Vegas. The incident occurred in March 2022 when Nika Nikoubin, 23, attacked her Plenty of Fish dating app partner, Daniel Trevino, during a sexual encounter. Nikoubin pleaded guilty to two counts of false imprisonment while using a deadly weapon. The judge cited her mental health struggles as a factor in offering probation instead of a harsher sentence.
Judge Carli Kierny’s decision to offer probation to Nikoubin was influenced by her mental health struggles. Nikoubin reportedlysuffered from severe depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Her lawyer argued that the stabbing incident was a result of a psychotic episode. Nikoubin herself revealed that she had been raped at the age of 18, which had a significant impact on her mental health. She expressed apologies to the victim, Daniel Trevino, and the state of Nevada during the court proceedings.
Daniel Trevino, the victim of the stabbing, spoke in court about the scars he carries from the ordeal. While he had previously stated that he had chosen to forgive Nikoubin, he believed that the law should determine the consequences of her actions. The couple had met on the Plenty of Fish dating app and decided to get a hotel room together. While they were together in the room, Nikoubin blinded Trevino before stabbing him in the neck.
Nikoubin, who immigrated to the US from Iran at the age of 12, revealed to law enforcement officials that she stabbed Trevino as an act of revenge for the US drone strike that targeted Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020. She stated that she stabbed him out of “spite and revenge” and believed it was fair for American blood to be spilled in response to Soleimani’s death. Nikoubin claimed that she did not intend to kill Trevino, only to hurt him.