Boy, 7, described mother’s slaying to jury

Kim Smith

Thursday, May 16, 2002 | 11:01 a.m.

A 7-year-old Las Vegas boy told grand jurors his mother pleaded with him to leave the room as his father stabbed her to death three months ago.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that they intend to seek the death penalty against 35-year-old Saul Lopez in the Feb. 25 death of Maria Cecilia Lopez, 33.

Saul Lopez's arraignment was postponed May 2 until May 23 because at least one mental health expert believes Lopez is incompetent and further testing is needed.

Grand jury transcripts released Wednesday provide details of the slaying as seen through the eyes of the Lopezes' youngest son, who was 6 at the time of the killing.

After asking the boy how to spell his name and what his favorite movie is ("Toy Story 2"), Chief Deputy District Attorney Abbi Silver eased into the facts of the case.

"Where is your mommy now?" Silver asked.

"Up there."

"Where's up there? What do you call that?" Silver asked.

"The angels," the boy replied.

The boy said that the day after his mother's 33rd birthday his father pushed his way into their home near Smoke Ranch Road and Jones Boulevard and grabbed a knife. His father then began stabbing his mom as he stood and watched.

The boy grabbed one of Silver's hands to describe how his mother tried to stop the attack.

"My dad was strong and my mom let go and he stabbed my mom," the boy said.

His mom was screaming throughout the attack, he said.

"She said 'Don't look at me' because I have a heart attack," the boy said.

"What was your heart doing?" Silver asked.

"It was going so fast," he said.

According to the transcript, the boy told grand jurors that when he asked his father why he attacked his mother his father told him he hadn't wanted to. The boy told police, however, that his father's response to that question was "because I wanted to."

The boy said the police came to his house and the next time he saw his mother she was "at the meeting." When asked if he meant funeral, he said yes.

The boy's older siblings, a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old, told grand jurors about several incidents in which their father allegedly beat and kicked them and assaulted their mother.

The teenagers said their mother and father often fought and got back together. Shortly before their mother died she had filed for divorce and taken out a temporary restraining order against their father.

Cecilia Lopez's sister, Maria Olaiz, said the couple met when her sister was 11. They got married when Cecilia got pregnant at 16, but she later miscarried that baby and another child before having their oldest son at the age of 18.

Metro Detective James LaRochelle described the defendant's demeanor shortly after the slaying as "detached, very calm and collected."

In addition to facing an open murder charge, Lopez faces charges of aggravated assault, burglary, preventing or dissuading a victim from reporting a crime and three counts of child abuse or neglect.

The boy, who suffers from nightmares and sleeps with his sister, is in therapy, Olaiz said.