Bariames may use the "McNaughton" Rule as defense

MINDEN -- The trial of a man who was found sitting in his Stateline apartment with his dead wife and unconscious infant begins May 20.

George Bariames, accused of child neglect, may take the stand on his own behalf, his attorney said.

According to Bariames' attorney, Derrick Lopez, psychiatric reports on Bariames include testimony from psychiatrists that present evidence for insanity.

Bariames may have been withdrawing from a type of drug which could have left him delusional, according to Lopez.

Bariames' 10-month-old son was found during a welfare check Sept. 21, 2002, at the Bariames' Stateline apartment.

Douglas County Sheriff's deputies found Bariames incoherent, according to reports, with his wife, Debbie, deceased.

Nicholas was alive, but malnourished.

Debbie's death was ruled natural, according to a pathologist's report released in December. Those results indicated she died of severe dehydration.

At a Monday hearing, District Judge Michael Gibbons decided that Bariames' psychiatric evaluations would be withheld from the public until the trial was under way.

"I don't have any need to have them distributed to the newspapers," said Deputy District Attorney Dina Salvucci. "The person who has physical custody (of Bariames' son) is going to want them."

Lopez agreed, although psychiatrists for both the defense and prosecution have seen each others reports, according to Lopez and Salvucci.

"To release (these reports to the public), to let out bits and pieces to reporters would be a mistake," Lopez said at the hearing. "I ask the court to delay a ruling on that until post-trial."

Gibbons allowed the reports to be admissible for the child custody case of Nicholas Bariames.

Bariames, who was released from jail in February and is staying in Las Vegas with a family member, pleaded not guilty to the felony charge of child neglect and abandonment at his Jan. 27 hearing.

At that hearing, Lopez informed the court that Bariames, originally from Las Vegas, had no prior criminal history.