by Gene Kennedy
news@ABC 4.com
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - West Valley City mother Emperatriz Meza-Reyna now faces attempted murder and child abuse charges, as her 7-year-old daughter remains in a coma at Pioneer Valley Hospital.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney says 21 year-old Meza-Reyna nearly beat her child to death. On July 22, Meza-Reyna brought her to the hospital and told doctors the girl fell down a flight of stairs. Doctors said the injuries were inconsistent with that story. Police agree.
“We think she was either struck with a heavy object at a high velocity or she was slammed into a wall or something like that,” said Capt. Tom McLachlin of the West Valley City Police Department.
Surgeons had to operate on the girl’s brain and say she may have permanent damage. Court records show the child’s been abused before by her mother. In January, Meza-Reyna plead guilty to child abuse. Typically, convicted parents must go through programs or classes to reunite with their child.
Juvenile court records are not public so it’s not exactly known why Meza-Reyna was allowed to reunite with her daughter. The judge in the criminal case put the mother on 36 months of probation instead of giving her jail time. Meza-Reyna was granted custody again despite making a previous statement to police that she was glad she was arrested because she feared she would kill her daughter. She made that comment in January 2008, according to court records.
“It’s possible that there are agencies that will look into this and I think that’s good,” said Liz Sollis, spokesperson for the Division of Child and Family Services. “We should always be looking to see whether we did what we needed to do and what we could have done differently or better.”
Sollis would not comment on the specifics of this case but she did say there’s been a slight increase in repeat offenses. D-C-F-S says, in 2007, 12% of children returned to their care. In 2008, that number rose to 14%.
