A knife in her son’s chest

Elizabeth Lezama, 27, was charged with manslaughter after she threw an eight-inch knife at her husband Lyndon during a family quarrel, but instead, the weapon stuck in the chest of their son, Meshach. The boy died sometime later at the Mount Hope Hospital.

Yesterday, Elizabeth pleaded guilty before Madame Justice Alice Yorke-Soo Hon in the Port-of-Spain Third Criminal Court. Sentence has been put off to May 27.

As part of the plea in mitigation, Lyndon Lezama was called to the witness stand. He said his wife loved their son very much.

He said he had a good relationship with her and that she was over-protective of their son.

"She used to take care of him, bathe him, take him to the doctor. She loved him, that was her main concern. That little child meant everything to her in the world. She has had a hard time," Lezama added as he broke into tears.

Lezama, who lives at Laventille Extension Road, continued, "My wife and I lived together and nothing the court does would change my feelings towards her. I don’t think she wilfully and intentionally killed our son. I still love my wife. I will stay with her until she serves her time in prison. I will stand by her."

The court heard that on January 14, 2001, Lezama was at home at Centenary Street, Tunapuna, with his wife and son. The boy was playing with Lezama’s pens. Lezama struck the boy on his leg. This made the accused pound her husband on his head.

The accused appeared at the bedroom door with a black-handled knife in her hand. She was peeling potatoes. She threw a bowl of potatoes at her husband. She then threw the knife which missed her husband and struck her son who was seated on a chair in front of her.

Meshach raised his jersey and cried out. There was blood spouting from a hole in his chest. The accused started to scream. The accused picked him and hustled him to the Mount Hope Hospital where he died sometime later. A post-mortem revealed that the boy died from a single puncture wound to the chest.

The accused gave a statement to the police confessing to the stabbing.

State attorneys Nalini Singh and Tricia Hudlin appeared for the State, while Mario Merritt represented the accused.