DAMIAN CASTRO - 4 Months (2010)/ Charged: Harold Montague - Las Vegas NV

LAS VEGAS —  Police say a young
boy is dead, two women are hospitalized and a man has been arrested
after an ax attack during a domestic dispute at a Las Vegas home.
Police Lt. Lewis Roberts said Thursday the two women were in critical
condition after the attack a little before noon in a neighborhood
southeast of downtown Las Vegas.
The ages and names of the victims and the man who was arrested were not
immediately made public. Police say everyone involved is part of one family.
Police say the man was treated for injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.
Police say other people inside the house near Maryland Parkway and Sahara Avenue weren't injured.

A man is behind bars after a
four-month-old baby boy was killed and two women were hospitalized.
Police say around noon on Thursday 33-year-old Harold Montague attacked
his victims with an ax on San Pedro Avenue, near Sahara Avenue and
Maryland Parkway. Montague attacked his disabled sister-in-law inside
the family home, then ran outside, attacked the baby and the
unidentified woman pushing the stroller. The woman was wounded and the
baby was killed. Police say the suspect did not know either the infant
or the mother. The sister-in-law suffered critical injuries but is
expected to survive. The mother of the infant is in extremely critical
condition. Montague faces several counts, including murder and
attempted murder.

Police say an ax-wielding man on a
rampage in a central valley neighborhood critically wounded his
disabled sister-in-law Thursday before severely injuring a woman and
killing her 4-month-old son.The attacks occurred in an older
neighborhood within view of the Stratosphere, where police believe
33-year-old Harold E. Montague first took a hatchet to his
sister-in-law in a rear bedroom of their single-story home.
Montague was supposed to be the
caregiver for the disabled woman while his wife, the woman's sister,
was at work, Las Vegas police Lt. Lew Roberts said.Police
believe Montague then ran outside, where a woman was pushing her
4-month-old son in a stroller. Montague attacked them both with the
hatchet, killing the infant and critically wounding the mother, Roberts
said.Montague did not know the woman or her son,
and police believe the attack was random."She
may or may not live, and if she does live, she's going to be disfigured
for the rest of her life," Roberts said of the mother.Detectives
have not identified a motive for the 11:51 a.m. attack. Montague told
police he doesn't remember what happened, Roberts said. If Montague is
mentally ill, investigators aren't aware if he has been formally
diagnosed, Roberts said.Officers arrived at the home, at 1609
San Pedro Ave., near Sahara Avenue and Maryland Parkway, to find the
infant under an overturned stroller and the mother lying next to him in
the street. Both had wounds on their heads and bodies, police said.A
witness told officers that Montague had fled inside, and as they
approached the house, Montague came outside without the ax and attacked
one of them, according to police. The officer received minor injuries.Inside
the home, the sister-in-law was found with multiple stab wounds. She
was taken to University Medical Center in critical condition. She was
unconscious Thursday night but was expected to survive, Roberts said.The infant's mother was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in "extremely critical" condition, police said.Two
of Montague's young children were home when the attack took place,
Roberts said. They, along with a third child who was in school at the
time, were taken into care by Child Protective Services.Roberts called the attack "terrible" and "very sad.""This is the worst nightmare that can happen to someone who is minding their own business," he said.The attack left neighbors shaken in the community of older, ranch-style homes.Jack
Webb III, who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 30 years, said
he walked outside and saw the dead child in the street and a woman
being carried on a stretcher into an ambulance."She was pretty cut up from head to toe, to tell you the truth," he said.An overturned stroller was in the street hours after the attack, while investigators canvassed the area.A 25-year resident of the neighborhood was driving home from a tile store
when he had to swerve to avoid two bodies in the middle of San Pedro.The
man, who asked that his name not be used, said one victim appeared to
be a baby and was under a stroller. The other victim was a bloodstained
adult. He went home and called 911. By the time the dispatcher asked
him for the address, two police cars came down the street with sirens
blaring. He said he wasn't frightened at first because he believed it
to be a domestic violence situation."The neighborhood has been real safe," he said.Neighbors said the people who live at the home were relatively new to the area. No one seemed to know them well.Luis
Arzate, who has lived in the neighborhood for 12 years, said the family
seemed to be a quiet one. He said three adults and three children
inhabited the home.Montague is being held at the Clark County
Detention Center without bail on one count of murder with a deadly
weapon, two counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon and one
count of attempted murder on a police officer.

LAS VEGAS — A man accused of killing a 4-month-old boy with a
medieval-style battle ax and critically injuring the child's mother in
a Las Vegas neighborhood told investigators he doesn't remember a
thing, police said Friday.Harold E. Montague, 33, didn't know
the woman or the boy he is accused of hacking with the blade of the ax
during the rampage a little before noon Thursday on a residential
street about a mile east of Las Vegas Boulevard, police Lt. Lewis
Roberts said.Montague also is accused of stabbing his
sister-in-law, a mentally disabled woman, more than 20 times with a
point of the ax before bursting out of a home into the street."We
don't know what set him off," Roberts said after Montague was
interviewed by homicide detectives and taken to the Clark County jail."He claims he blacked out. He said he doesn't remember anything," Roberts said.The boy was found dead in the street, near where his stroller was found overturned.His
mother was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in very
critical condition with what Roberts said were disfiguring face and
head injuries.Their names weren't immediately made public.The
sister-in-law, whose name and age also weren't released, was reported
to be in fair condition at University Medical Center in Las Vegas.Neighbors saw the attack and shouted at Montague to stop while calling 911, Roberts said.Montague
left the ax in the single-family home before police arrived, and
scuffled with officers who tried to use a Taser to subdue and arrest
him, said Officer Bill Cassell, a department spokesman. One police
officer received what Cassell said were minor injuries that did not
require medical treatment.Montague was being held without bail
on charges of murder, attempted murder and attempted murder of a police
officer pending a court appearance Tuesday morning. Court officials
said it was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.Montague
was described as the caregiver for his sister-in-law, who Roberts said
was stabbed repeatedly in torso, stomach and legs.Roberts said
Montague's wife was at work and two children were in the house during
the attack. Another child was at school. The children weren't hurt.

LAS VEGAS - New details are
emerging regarding this week's ax attack that left a four-year-old dead
and his mother severely injured. The man accused of the attack has a
criminal background and a history of mental illness.
Police say 33-year-old Harold Montague struck Sandra Castro and her
infant son Damian with an ax on Thursday. Castro was pushing her son in
a baby carriage on the sidewalk in front of Montague's home. Police
believe the attack was random. Authorities say Montague also stabbed
his disabled sister-in-law whom police found in Montague's home after
they apprehended him.
Montague told police he doesn't remember his actions. His wife Erika
says Harold Montague suffers from mental illness. "It is just a shock.
He needs help, and he is in a psychiatric ward right now," she said.
"He needs the help, and I just want to tell the family that I am very
sorry. Just please find it in your heart to forgive him. He did not
know."
8 News NOW obtained records showing Harold Montague also has a
criminal history in Bexar County, Texas, where he was convicted for
bodily assault with injury, theft, and possession of marijuana.
While Montague awaits his arraignment, a memorial has emerged at the
site of Damian Castro's death. Candles, flowers and stuffed animals now
decorate the area. 9-year-old Breanna Morehouse left her teddy bear for
the fallen boy. "I was sad because a baby like that… (He was) four
months old, and he died on the ground because somebody else killed
him," she said. "I lived with this bear since I was just a baby too.
So, I want to give it to him. Even though I'm still a child, I still
worry about other people, especially when they're young like that."
Breanna's mother, Margo, used to pass Castro and her baby on their
morning walks. She is outraged over the assault. "That would just tear
me apart, knowing a sick man like that could do something like that to
an innocent child," Margo said.
Neighbor Dora Lara says she is having nightmares. "I can't sleep. I
close my eyes. I saw that lady, the baby. Oh my God," she said. "(It's)
very sad, because I got my little girl."
A community grieves and hopes this little boy can rest in peace after dying so violently.

Baby hacked to death in axe-attack by laughing stranger, as mother begged for mercy
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 8:56 AM on 14th April 2010



A baby boy was hacked to death in his pushchair, in an axe attack which left his mother needing surgery to reattach her face and jaw.

Harold Montague appeared in court in Las Vegas yesterday accused of the murder, which came moments after he stabbed his disabled sister-in-law at least 20 times in their home.

According to witnesses he then burst out into the street, randomly attacking Sonia Lisset Castro as she walked past with her four-month-old son in his pushchair.

Police said Montague used a mediaeval-style axe in the attacks, which had been hanging on the wall of his home.

After showing the court her severe scarring, Mrs Castro took to the stand to describe the assault through a translator.

'My face and my head. Those are the parts of my body where he was striking me,' she said.

'I was saying in English, "Please, please leave me alone!" But he wouldn't listen to me.

'Every time he would hit me, he would laugh out loud. I was begging him to let me go, and he was mocking me.'

Mrs Castro was blinded in one eye by the attack.

Montague's sister-in-law, 36-year-old Monica O'Dazier, was treated at a hospital and released.
She has cerebral palsy, is mentally disabled, suffers seizures and can walk only a few steps with assistance. Montague had been her primary carer for six years.

Montague is charged with murder with a deadly weapon and three counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon.

He told police he had no memory of the incident in February, while his lawyer Norm Reed said he was delusional and paranoid.

A neighbour who called police as she watched the attack from her home identified Montague as the attacker.

Teresa Garner said that after Montague went back inside his home, she ran to help Mrs Castro.
'I saw the baby lying in the street, dead,' said Garner, a 52-year-old disabled former hotel worker.
'I saw the mother, her face was completely gone... bleeding profusely.'

Garner suffered an emotional breakdown after the incident, spending a week in psychiatric care.
On the emergency call, played in court, Garner was heard shrieking, 'Oh my God! Her face is split open where he hit her with the hatchet!'

Montague's wife Erricca, a mother-of-three, also took to the stand, saying she hadn't thought Montague was a threat to her family.

She said he sometimes smoked marijuana but never took other drugs or drank alcohol.

Following the hearing, which continues, the judge will decide whether to order Montague to stand trial.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1265595/Harold-Montague-trial-axe-attack-murder-baby-boy.html

Accused ax murderer to enter not guilty plea by reason of insanity
Updated: Apr 15, 2010 7:09 PM CDT


Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) - The attorney representing accused ax murderer Harold Montague says his client will enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

That statement made by Deputy Public Defender Norm Reed after a judge decided there is enough evidence for Montague to stand trial.

"This is obviously a situation where it couldn't have happened for any other reason, but he was severely insane at the time," said Norm Reed, Montague's attorney.

Reed says he will push for Montague to spend the rest of his life in Lakes Crossing, a state run mental institution, instead of the confinement of prison.

He describes Montague as delusional from the day of the attack up until now.

"He's paranoid. He's afraid of everything at this point," Reed went on to say. "If he ends up in prison, that will be a situation where it will be difficult for him for address his mental health issues."

Day two of Montague's hearing wrapped up a medical examiner taking the stand, testifying about the wounds she observed on 4-month-old Damien Avila Castro.

"When I arrived at the scene, and we viewed the body, the baby's body was on the ground," said Dr. Lisa Gavin, with the Clark Co. Coroner's Office.

She says the baby had three chop wounds, to the forehead, right ear and right side of the head. She testified that every bone in the infant's head was fractured as a result of those wounds.

Montague's attorney insists that he has remorse.

"He clearly feels bad. He doesn't want to look at pictures. That's very difficult for him," added Norm Reed.

Harold Montague has reportedly said "this was god's will". Norm Reed says more bizarre statements and unusual behavior will come out when this case goes to trial.

A trial date is expected to be scheduled on May 3rd. According to Reed, based on the legal standard, Montague is competent to stand trial.

Prosecutors have said they will present a case to the death penalty review committee to determine whether the state will seek capital punishment in this case.

Montague is also accused of stabbing his disabled sister-in-law more than 20 times.

Stay with Action News for the latest information.

http://www.ktnv.com/story/12320427/accused-ax-murderer-to-enter-not-guilty-plea-by-reason-of-insanity

Defendant pleads insanity in Las Vegas ax attack
KEN RITTER

Monday, May 3, 2010

LAS VEGAS — LAS VEGAS (AP) - 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.vcstar.com/news/2010/may/03/defendant-pleads-insanity-in-las-vegas-ax-attack/?print=1

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



Photo credit: Steve Marcus

By Bethany Barnes
Friday, Dec. 6, 2013 | 5:15 p.m.

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/dec/06/defense-bolsters-its-case-insanity-plea-2010-ax-sl/