ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A Minnesota woman charged with attempted murder for allegedly throwing her autistic 11-year-old son from the balcony of their fourth-floor apartment told investigators that she wished heaven was the boy’s home, according to charges filed Wednesday.
Itayvia Lloyd, of St. Paul, was charged in Ramsey County court with one count of attempted second-degree murder. Lloyd, 33, was in court Wednesday, where a judge granted a defense request to evaluate whether Lloyd is competent to proceed with the case and whether she is mentally ill or cognitively impaired. She is being held pending the evaluation and is due back in court May 26.
“There is more going on in this matter than is currently being portrayed,” her public defender, Adrianne Lynn McMahon, told The Associated Press.
Police were called to the building Monday and found the boy, wearing only underwear, in the courtyard. According to the complaint, both his legs apparently were broken, and when an officer placed his hands on the boy’s face to brace his neck, he felt the left side of the boy’s jawbone collapse and crack. Police said the boy is expected to survive, but he faces additional surgeries, the complaint said.
“This is certainly one of the most tragic cases that has happened during my time as County Attorney,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a statement Wednesday. “My heart breaks for this 11 year-old boy who is recovering from his massive injuries and for this family, including the mother who stands accused of attempted murder.”
Lloyd’s 6-year-old son said he saw his mother take his older brother off the top of their bunk bed, and when he asked her where his brother was, she told him she threw him off the balcony, the complaint states. In a later interview, the 6-year-old said he awoke to his older brother laughing and his mother said, “This is not a joke - stop laughing,” according to the complaint.
When she was first interviewed, Lloyd told investigators she did not remember what happened because she had been smoking marijuana. She said her 11-year-old son “was on the top bunk playing around as usual, but this morning, I threw that kid off the balcony. He really fell. For real.”
In a later interview, Lloyd told investigators that her son is non-verbal and raising him on her own has been difficult. She said she worried about the boy’s future because of his medical issues and acknowledged that she wished heaven was the boy’s home, the complaint states.
Lloyd was charged Tuesday with two counts of assault on a peace officer. Police said she tried to punch one officer and spat in the face of another as they took her to the Ramsey County jail for booking.
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