Trigger warning: this article contains descriptions of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as violence
A woman who stabbed her date claims she thought she was Salma Hayek.
Nika Nikoubin claims that she believed she was the vampire queen played by the actor in the classic horror film, Dusk Till Dawn.
The Texas student alleges that she hallucinated throughout the incident, thinking a snake was coiling around her shoulders during the severe schizophrenic episode.
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Nikoubin alleges that she’d previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder prior to the attack last year.
However, the 23-year-old claimed that her mental health had worsened in the weeks leading up to the attack, with the student telling the New York Post she was in a ‘very manic state of mind’.
Unable to separate fantasy and reality, the young woman began to believe she was Salma Hayek’s character in the 1996 horror.
She even thought she could charm snakes, just like in the Quentin Tarantino movie.
“I essentially looked in the mirror and I thought, ‘This actress is hot,'” revealed Nikoubin, adding: “[I’m] thinking I’m Salma Hayek from the Dusk Till Dawn movie, and I was hallucinating there was a snake around my shoulders.”
It was then that she met Daniel Trevino on a dating app and invited him to a Vegas hotel room, with the unwitting man thinking they’d hook up.
However, the Texas student brought a small pink kitchen knife with her, blindfolded her date and then stabbed him in the neck twice.
Thankfully, Trevino was able to call out in pain and shove the student off him with Nikoubin fleeing moments later.
She was later arrested by cops over the incident, although the student still claims she was hallucinating during this.
“When we talk about delusions like a snake or thinking you are character, it was 100 per cent real to me,” she explained to the post.
“I was so far gone that even when I had handcuffs around me, I was still thinking I was a character. I thought I was going to have a custody scene … like a scene shot in jail.
As she was being interviewed by authorities, Nikoubin stated that she thought she was Carrie from Homeland, who was played by actor Claire Danes.
Thinking she was part of a political plot, the 23-year-old claims it was weeks before she actually realised what has occurred.
In the months following, Nikoubin would plead guilty to charges of false imprisonment with a weapon.
Upon hearing her testimony, Trevino also told the court that he 'forgave' the student, but told prosecutors 'whatever the law decides to do, that’s up to the law'.
Nikoubin received three years probation for the incident.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
You can also call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline.
Topics: Mental Health, US News, Crime
Katherine Sidnell