A Florida woman was recently arrested for neglect when she witnessed her
husband stabbing their children and did not intervene. According to investigators,
Deanna DeJesus’ two sons were stabbed by their father. One died
after the encounter while the other was taken to the hospital in critical
condition.
The prosecution tried to get Deanna convicted of manslaughter for failing
to save her children, but the jury could not come to a solid conclusion
and reduced her charges to neglect. With Monday’s neglect conviction,
the mother now faces 15 years in prison. Prosecutors may choose to take
her back into court for
manslaughter charges and retry the case.
The alleged incident occurred in February when a 41-year-old father named
William DeJesus took his family to a Deerfield Beach RV park. Here, DeJesus
show a 76-year-old woman and barricaded himself, wife, and two sons in
her RV. DeJesus then stabbed his wife and sons before killing himself.
The prosecutors claimed that DeJesus could have saved the children from
their injuries but her defense attorneys argue that she was also a victim
and was wounded at the time.
DeJesus will now face years in prison after witnessing the horrifying death
of her son and the wounding of another son. She was most likely terrified
at the time of the murder, and was wounded herself after her husband slashed
at her with a knife before killing himself. In a situation like this where
there are no witnesses, things can get complicated and confusing.
For example, the only sole survivor, a wounded son, may have been disoriented
at the time of the attack and not seen what was happening as he was being
wounded. His mother may have tried to help him but been maimed herself
by the knifings. If you have been involved in a crime with few witnesses
and are being falsely accused, you need a lawyer from Parks & Braxton
to help. We will fight for your innocence in your case, so get in contact
with us today!