Monday, Sept. 21, 2015 | 3:30 p.m.
CARSON CITY — The Nevada Supreme Court today upheld the death penalty for Richard Haberstroh, convicted of abducting, sexually assaulting and strangling a Las Vegas woman.
Haberstroh argued the death penalty was excessive. He said his family had a history of alcoholism, that he was abused as a child and had mental problems, according to court documents.
In a unanimous decision, the court upheld the death penalty, noting, among other things, “the nature and circumstances of his crimes” and his “lengthy criminal record.”
On July 21, 1986, he abducted Donna Kitowski, 20, from a grocery store parking lot in Las Vegas, according to court records. He took her to the desert outside the city, robbed her, sexually assaulted her and strangled her, the records say. The attack caused irreparable brain damage that led to her death.
Haberstroh, now 60, was sentenced to death. He was subsequently granted a new penalty hearing, but a jury returned the same sentence.
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