LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Dallas-area university has banned the woman accused of stabbing her hookup in a Las Vegas-area hotel room in retaliation for a U.S. drone strike that killed an Iranian leader.
As the 8 News Now Investigators first reported Monday, police in Texas said they were never made aware Nika Nikoubin, 22, was in their jurisdiction and attending classes at the University of Texas at Dallas.
In a hearing Wednesday, Judge Carli Kierny ordered Nikoubin, an aspiring singer, to adhere to strict stipulations of her house arrest in Texas, including not performing without Kierny’s consent. Nikoubin recently released a music video for a song called “Spaceman” under the name Nika Borouj.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Rod Bishop, a representative from the university police department, asked Kierny to ban Nikoubin from campus pending trial. Kierny said that was not her decision to make.
“University officials recently became aware that she was charged with a crime and is under the jurisdiction of a Nevada court,” a school spokesperson said Thursday. “Because the safety of our campus and our community is of utmost importance, we have removed her from campus. The UT Dallas Police will monitor the student’s compliance with the removal order.”
Bishop had said Nikoubin would be able to attend online classes, but it was unclear Thursday if this was accurate.
A Clark County grand jury indicted Nikoubin on charges of attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon because of certain, actual or perceived characteristics of a person, and two counts of battery, records showed.
Henderson police arrested Nikoubin, a University of Texas at Dallas student, shortly after the stabbing on March 5 at Sunset Station. Nikoubin and the male victim met online on the dating website Plenty of Fish, Henderson police wrote in an arrest report. The duo then agreed to meet at the hotel, booking a room together, police said.
While in the room, the pair began engaging in sexual activity, when Nikoubin put a blindfold on the victim, police said. Nikoubin then turned off the lights, and several seconds later, stabbed the victim in the neck, documents said.
While speaking to officers, Nikoubin said she wanted to get revenge for the drone strike, which killed Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani in 2020. The 8 News Now Investigators obtained body camera video in December, showing officers talking to Nikoubin before her arrest.
“I guess out of spite and revenge,” she told the officer when he asked why she stabbed the victim.
Nikoubin has pleaded not guilty. A trial was scheduled for July.
