The state is seeking the death penalty for a man accused of the rape and murder of 16-year-old Spanish Springs High School student Holly Quick.

Tamir Hamilton, 28, has pled not guilty by reason of insanity for the September 2006 crimes. As the trial begins early this week, his defense team will attempt to prove Hamilton’s untreated schizophrenia, complicated by drug use, led to the tragedy.

Quick’s body was found by her mother, Patricia Doss, on the morning of Sept. 16, 2006 in the teen’s bedroom of their Harbor Cove apartment near the Sparks Marina. An autopsy concluded the teenager bled to death from a 2-inch-deep slash to her neck.

Hamilton was a former roommate and friend of Quick’s older sister, Jhana Williams, and he and Holly were acquaintances. Hamilton reportedly told police he was drunk and had used cocaine and marijuana the night before Quick was found dead in her bedroom, according to court documents.

On the evening of Sept. 15, Doss picked up Quick from a Spanish Springs football game and dropped her off at their apartment.

According to police, Hamilton said he came to Quick’s apartment that night and that she recognized him at the front door and let him inside, leading him to her room, where they talked.

After a couple of errands, Doss returned to the apartment to find her daughter pale and acting oddly as she lay on her bed under a blanket. Thinking that Quick had overexerted herself and not realizing anyone else was in the apartment, Doss left her daughter’s room and closed the door.

Doss last talked to her daughter at about 11 p.m. when she asked Quick through her closed bedroom door for a cell phone number. Afterwards, Doss went to bed, leaving her bedroom door open, which was on the opposite side of the apartment. The next morning she found her daughter’s body.

Through the course of their investigation, police found evidence that connected Hamilton to the crime.

According to police, Hamilton said the next thing he could recall was driving home before midnight, then having an argument at home with his girlfriend.

On Feb. 16, 2007, Sparks Justice Court Judge Kevin Higgins determined there was probable cause to try Hamilton on charges of first-degree murder and sexual assault with a deadly weapon.

Presiding over the trial is Washoe District Court Judge Connie Steinheimer. Prosecuting Attorney Luke Prengaman said the District Attorney’s Office will seek the death penalty.

Jury selection from a pool of about 150 people will recommence on Monday, and the trial — which will start as soon as a jury is seated and alternates are chosen — is expected to begin on Tuesday, Pusich said. Jury questionnaires touched on bias related to race, the death penalty, personal ties and prejudgment based on extensive media coverage.

If a fair and unbiased jury cannot be found, Pusich will request a change of venue for the trial at that time.

Pusich said she plans to make several specific points as part of her strategy in defending Hamilton.

“First, we need to touch on the plea — not guilty by reason of insanity,” Pusich said. “It focuses on the defendant’s mental state, and whether he is legally responsible for what the state is accusing him of, under the circumstances at the time. Mental illness is not the same as mental retardation. You can have someone who is mentally insane who looks normal and seems reasonably intelligent walking around, and you would not know of their condition.”

Hamilton’s schizophrenia was officially diagnosed after his arrest in October 2006 on charges of raping and murdering Holly Quick.

Defense has retained a private-practice neuropsychologist to bolster its case, and will call to the stand several licensed psychiatrists that work at Washoe County Jail.

Schizophrenia also tends to run in families; a parent or sibling’s diagnosis tends to multiply the likelihood of the condition.

“Hamilton’s mother has also been diagnosed with schizophrenia and is receiving treatment,” Pusich said.

“The use of drugs is a contributing factor,” Pusich said. “The state will argue his condition resulted from his drug use only. The defense will argue that if a person has a serious medical condition, drug use only makes everything worse. We don’t know whether the drugs triggered the symptoms (of his schizophrenia), or if the drugs were taken to try to alleviate the symptoms of the schizophrenia.”

The Washoe County Jail turned down a request by Hamilton for closer supervision in November, as he stopped taking his anti-schizophrenia medication to simulate his mental condition at the time of Holly Quick’s murder, and to undergo psychological testing in preparation for his defense in court. The jail said it could not supervise it because of the added liability.

However, Hamilton was allowed to voluntarily discontinue taking three anti-schizophrenia medications in preparation of his defense, said Chief Deputy Public Defender Maizie Pusich.

After more than three weeks, Hamilton and his doctor decided Hamilton would begin taking his medications again.

Defense also plans to question law enforcement and crime lab personnel about how they conducted questioning and obtained information and statements, as well as how evidence was collected and its chain of custody.

Hamilton was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for raping a University of Nevada, Reno student a short time before Quick was murdered.