Lobato receives 100 years in mutilation slaying of man

Kim Smith

Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2002 | 9:18 a.m.

A Panaca woman who said she was 200 miles away when a Las Vegas homeless man was beaten and sexually mutilated was sentenced to 100 years in prison Tuesday for his murder.

Kirstin Blaise Lobato, 19, will have to serve at least 40 years before becoming eligible for parole.

District Judge Valorie Vega also ordered Lobato to serve a concurrent prison sentence of five to 15 years for the sexual penetration of Duran Bailey's body.

Lobato agreed to serve the 40 to 100-year sentence after her conviction in May, rather than face the possibility of a jury giving her a no-parole life term for the murder.

It was left up to Vega to decide if Lobato should receive a five-year to life sentence or a five to 15-year sentence for Bailey's mutilation and if the sentence should be run concurrently or consecutively.

Deputy District Attorney William Kephart argued for the lower sentence, but said it should be run consecutive to the murder sentence.

While Lobato deserves some consideration because she was repeatedly victimized as a child, Kephart said, what happened to Bailey after he was beaten to death was evidence of a "depraved mind."

Special Public Defender Phil Kohn said running the sentence concurrently is not the same as saying "it's OK to do something to somebody after they're dead."

He also noted that regardless of how the sentence is run, Lobato would still reap the consequences of her actions once she is out of prison. She would have to register as a sex offender and be placed on lifetime supervision.

Lobato declined to comment when given the chance to speak.

In addition to running the sentences concurrently, Vega ordered Lobato to pay a $10,000 fine.

Bailey's body was found near a bank Dumpster on West Flamingo Road on July 8, 2001.

Lobato was arrested 12 days later when she told a former teacher she had cut off a man's penis when he tried to sexually assault her.

The woman gave a similar story to police upon her arrest.

When she got to trial, however, Lobato told jurors that on the evening Bailey died, she was 165 miles away in Panaca.

Kohn and fellow defense attorney Gloria Navarro told jurors that police never discussed the date of Bailey's death with Lobato. She thought they were questioning her about a Memorial Day weekend attack.

The defense attorneys put several witnesses on the stand to testify Lobato was in Panaca from July 2 until July 9. Prosecutors, in their closing arguments, said cell phone bills indicate she left Panaca July 6 after arguing with her parents and returned after the murder in the early hours of July 8.

Kephart and fellow prosecutor Sandra DiGiacomo told jurors they believe Lobato killed Bailey with a baseball bat when he demanded sex in exchange for drugs.