'You have ruined her life': Man sentenced for brutal attack on UNLV law professor

LAS VEGAS (KSNV News3LV) — A Henderson man convicted of attacking a UNLV law professor received a sentence on Thursday of 6 to 15 years behind bars.

Leslie Griffin said her life has changed drastically since the attack.

It happened in October 2016 on a Henderson sidewalk at Paseo Verde Parkway and Desert Trail.

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“By the time I got out of the hospital, I weighed 90 pounds,” said Griffin. “Most people survive the kinds of injuries I survived. Or they survive only to be permanently in an institution they can care for you full time.”

Even a simple walk brings Griffin back to the attack.

“Wherever I go, I have new fears. I look behind me when I walk, always wondering if someone might be there to attack me,” she noted. “And most important, for a smart law professor, I now have to prove I'm intellectually okay.”

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Michael Mattingly stood in front of Griffin and offered an apology.

“I want to apologize for what I did. I was not entirely sure what happened that day,” said Mattingly. “I’ve never been a violent person. I’ve never been in any kind of trouble. It just came out of the blue pretty much. Every day I wish I could take it back.”

Mattingly severely beat Griffin, slamming her to the ground and kicking her. Police called the attack “random.” Griffin was just going about her day when the attack happened.

“My clear and simple life was completely reordered by someone else's act of violence. I urge you please to justly punish him for his attack,” Griffin told the judge.

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The defense told Judge Susan Johnson that Mattingly has mental health issues and the attack was not premeditated.

He said Mattingly was “having a bad day, for lack of a better term.”

“What you did was horrendous and I can't just ignore, just, well gee, I was just having a bad day, or whatever the case may be,” said Judge Johnson. “You have ruined her life and she's fighting to get it back.”