Powerhouse of Ill Repute

November 2, 2009 permalink

New Jersey child protectors harmed a child just through larcenous reputation. Mother Elida Marroquin, who did not speak English, thought notices from a school portended child removal. In anticipation of the worst she stabbed her eight-year-old son Lisandro and herself.

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Bergen County mother stabs son then injures self

By Julie O'Connor/The Star-Ledger, October 31, 2009, 7:45PM

A mother stabbed her 8-year-old son with a steak knife at their Bergen County home this morning, then stabbed herself in the throat and chest because she feared the government was going to take her children, authorities said.

The boy, stabbed in the abdomen, was in stable condition tonight after undergoing surgery to remove his gallbladder, authorities said. Police described his mother’s wounds as superficial.

The mother, Elida Marroquin, 37, of Bergenfield, has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, weapons possession and endangering the welfare of a child. Her bail has been set at $500,000.

Tonight, she and her son remain at Hackensack Medical Center, and Marroquin is expected to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Police said Marroquin, who does not speak much English, had been under considerable stress for the past week. She became convinced the paperwork her son brought home from his teachers at school indicated authorities intended to take her children away, and her husband and children were unable to dissuade her of that notion, said Bergenfield Det. John Casper.

The stabbing occurred at about 9:40 a.m., while the 8-year-old boy was sitting on his parents’ bed with his 2-year-old sister playing video games, Casper said. When Marroquin walked in with a steak knife, he screamed.

His 12-year-old sister rushed into the room, and their mother then stabbed her son, Casper said.

The boy then ran from the room and was followed by his sister, who grabbed their youngest sibling. All three fled the apartment, Casper said.

After the attack, police said the boy’s 12-year-old sister immediately gathered paper towels to administer aid to her bleeding brother.

The boy ran outside, clutching his stomach and struggling to breathe, and an upstairs neighbor who was returning from a walk saw him and called 911, Casper said.

Neighbors said Marroquin was a stay-at-home, married mother of three. The 8-year-old boy’s name is Lisandro, they said.

During the attack, Lisandro called out to his 10-year-old friend, a neighbor who lives next door, said Anthony Then, 25, the 10-year-old’s older brother.

"I heard the little kid screaming, ‘Help me! Help me!’ I thought I was dreaming, and when I woke up, the cops were outside," Then said.

Neighbors described Marroquin as moody.

"Today she’ll be happy and tomorrow she’ll stare at your face and not even say ‘Hi,’" said Jessica Anderson, 37, a next-door neighbor in the two-story brick apartment complex.

Anderson said Marroquin, who is short and frail, did not cry as police led her out of the house in handcuffs, her neck wrapped in gauze.

The woman’s husband, a landscaper, was not at home at the time of the attack, neighbors said. He later joined his wife and son at the hospital, and the couple’s other children were sent to stay with a family friend, police said. The Division of Youth and Family Services is involved in the investigation.

Neighbors said Marroquin’s husband liked to tend a garden in front of the couple’s home, and bought ice cream for the children who played with his son. On Saturday, statues of a swan and a little girl stood in the garden.

"Tears were coming out of my eyes when I heard it was the little boy," said neighbor Marlon Anderson, 38. "My son plays with him."

Source: Newark Star-Ledger