Judge finds Javier Righetti mentally capable to face death penalty

She sees a monster in a quiet courtroom. Sometimes he turns around and looks into her eyes.

In the past 5½ years, as she waits to learn his fate, Megan Otremba has exchanged glances with the man who confessed to raping, killing and mutilating her older sister and best friend, 15-year-old Alyssa Otremba.

“I see someone who doesn’t respect human life,” Megan Otremba said. “And I see someone who didn’t even think about the consequences of his actions. He didn’t think about any of it. Yeah, I see a monster.”

Megan and her parents, Jennifer and Scott, are in court for nearly all of Javier Righetti’s appearances, steps away from the shackled defendant.

“He knows who we are,” Jennifer Otremba said. “And I want him to see what he took.”

On Thursday, a judge decided that the 24-year-old Righetti is mentally capable of facing the death penalty. If sent to Nevada’s death row, he would be the youngest man in one of the solitary cells in upstate Ely, isolated 23 hours every day.

The Otrembas think it’s a fair penalty, although they would respect a jury’s decision.

“He didn’t consider her life,” Jennifer Otremba said after the judge’s ruling. “We’ve been fighting for justice for her.”

The defendant is scheduled to go to trial on a murder charge March 6.

After a day and a half of testimony from psychologists, District Judge Michelle Leavitt ruled that Righetti does not suffer from an intellectual disability and that he is eligible to receive capital punishment.

A year ago, Righetti pleaded guilty to 10 counts, including murder with a deadly weapon, first-degree kidnapping and sexual assault with a child in Alyssa’s September 2011 death.

His plea to nine counts stands, but the Nevada Supreme Court last week upheld a lower court decision rejecting a plea on the murder charge.

On that count, the plea lacked an admission that the killing was premeditated, which prosecutors said should have been included. Such an admission allows prosecutors to ask a jury to consider more factors regarding the severity of the crime when weighing Righetti’s sentence.

Alyssa was attacked on the Friday that ended her first week at Arbor View High School, less than 100 yards from her family’s home on Satin Carnation Lane.

Righetti had stalked the girl for more than half a mile before forcing her into a nearby wash, according to court documents.

He later confessed to Las Vegas police that after raping Alyssa, he tortured her by using a knife to stab her more than 80 times in the face and other body parts, according to authorities. He carved the initials “LV” on the freshman’s body because he felt it was “gangster” and returned later to burn the body, authorities said.

During this week’s proceedings, Deputy Public Defender Christy Craig told Leavitt that the accepted plea forces a nearly impossible defense for Righetti at trial. Jurors are expected to decide on the murder count without knowing about his plea.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.