Saipan Tribune

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

$250K bail for mother who allegedly stabbed her baby

Police arrested the mother who allegedly stabbed her 2-month-old baby at their home in Chalan Kanoa Saturday night.

Loreta R. Feria, 27, was taken to the Superior Court yesterday afternoon for her initial appearance on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, and child abuse or neglect.

Associate Judge David A. Wiseman kept Feria's bail at $250,000 cash and set the preliminary hearing on Feb. 21. Feria will be arraigned on Feb. 25.

Assistant public defender Daniel Guidotti was appointed to represent Feria.

Acting police spokesman Sgt. Thomas Blas Jr. said that police received a call about a stabbing incident on Saturday at 8:48pm.

Blas said the medics who responded to the scene immediately called for patrol officers after discovering that the victim was a 2-month-old baby girl.

Blas said the mother, Feria, admitted to the officers at the scene that she stabbed her baby. She was arrested and taken to the Department of Corrections.

The baby was taken to the Commonwealth Health Center where she was treated for a stab wound in the abdomen, a laceration in the neck, and abrasions on the left wrist. She was later listed in stable condition.

Police detective Jesse K. Seman stated in his report that a police officer who responded to the scene saw the baby's father crying while carrying the infant inside an ambulance.

Feria allegedly told a police officer that she stabbed her baby and repeatedly stated that she wanted to kill herself.

The baby's father told police that Feria called him at work at 7:30pm that day and told him to come home because there was an emergency. She refused to tell him the emergency and just told him to go home.

When the husband arrived home, he saw his wife crying, then heard their baby crying. When he then checked the bedroom he saw bloodstains on the infant's clothes.

The husband took his wife, the infant, and their other two children to the Commonwealth Health Center. At CHC's parking lot, Feria refused to go inside the hospital and asked him to drive them to her mother's house in Garapan.

Upon arriving at her mother's house, the husband told his brother-in-law that Feria had stabbed their baby. The brother-in-law then called for an ambulance.