The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
Michelle Betancourt was sentenced on Tuesday for stabbing her three year old son during a domestic dispute with the child’s father.
In May 2015, Michelle Betancourt of Los Angeles and her child’s father got into a heated argument. The twenty-three year old woman lost control and threw a knife at the man, but it hit her child instead. Neighbors reported terrifying screaming and crying and a woman yelling something about “a lot of blood.” Neighbors saw Betancourt running down the driveway, holding the wounded boy, while screaming hysterically. The boy’s father initially claimed that the boy had stabbed himself.
The boy’s injuries were life-threatening, but he did recover. Betancourt was arrested and charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and personal infliction of great bodily injury. Although police originally claimed the assault was intentional, after thoroughly reviewing the case prosecutors decided they could not file attempted murder charges. Attempted murder requires the specific intent to murder, whereas Betancourt acted wantonly and recklessly. Her attorney insists that she did not intend to harm her child.