Utah mother accused of trying to kill her young son
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Pat Reavy, KSL.com
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (KSL.com) — A 35-year-old mother has been charged after her 7-year-old boy was found bloodied and going door to door seeking help.
Petrice Shirley Marie Garcia was charged on Thursday in 3rd District Court with attempted aggravated murder and disarming a police officer, first-degree felonies, three counts of aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony, and trespassing, a class A misdemeanor.
West Valley police were called to investigate a possible child abuse situation on May 3, after learning a 7-year-old boy’s mother “tried to kill him by hitting him on the head with a statue and drowning him,” according to charging documents.
“Witnesses stated that the child was walking from home to home looking for assistance. The child was found by witnesses who stated the child was covered in blood and soaked with water,” a police booking affidavit states.
A neighbor “then observed Garcia come out of her house and state, ‘Call the cops, I tried killing my son,'” the charges state. Garcia entered the neighbor’s house not wearing any clothes before fighting with the neighbor and being pushed out.
Another neighbor told police he saw the boy “running down the street asking for help” and noticed he “had blood all over his face, head and shirt,” according to the charges.
He then “saw Garcia running down the street fully nude” before coming up to that neighbor and assaulting him, the charges state. The neighbor “tackled Garcia to the ground and held her until the police arrived.”
After Garcia was in custody, she was taken to a local hospital where she hit a nurse and then touched the grip of an officer’s gun in an apparent attempt to grab it as he fought to restrain her, the charges state.
At the woman’s house, detectives “found a bathtub filled with water. In the water was a broken statue weighing 3-5 pounds. There was considerable blood around and on the bathtub. (The boy) reported he ‘escaped mom.’ (He) explained that Garcia broke two statues, dragged him by the hand and tried to kick him out of the house,” according to the charges.
Garcia then threw the boy into the bathtub and tried to drown him, prosecutors say.
The boy suffered “a mild traumatic brain injury, multiple scalp lacerations that required closure with 15 staples, and a forehead laceration that required four sutures. (He) also sustained bruises and abrasions on his ankles, his right shin, his right upper thigh, his right hand and wrist, his left third knuckle and his right forearm,” the charges state.
“The allegations in this case are disturbing, but the way the child’s neighbors stepped in to help demonstrates the strength of our community to come together in a crisis,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said Thursday. “If you are struggling as a parent, please reach out for support. Asking for help is a sign of strength.”
Garcia was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail under the name Petrice Gustafson.
“(She) has an extensive criminal history, including multiple convictions related to possession of narcotics,” and was on probation at the time of her arrest, according to court documents.