Parents reach agreement on burial of slain 3-year-old

Erica D. Johnson and Jen Lawson

Thursday, Feb. 6, 2003 | 9:56 a.m.

The parents who had been battling over the remains of Kristyanna Cowan came to terms Wednesday and will have separate memorial services for the 3-year-old girl.

David Cowan and Tamara Bergeron reached an agreement moments before a court hearing that was to have determined who would get custody of their daughter's body, District Judge Sally Loehrer said.

The parents had been at odds since Kristyanna's slaying Jan. 22 in a stabbing attack in Mesquite. The attack left Bergeron's other daughter, 10-year-old Brittney Bergeron, paralyzed from the waist down.

Tammy Bergeron initially had wanted the Kristyanna's body to be cremated in Las Vegas. She will instead just keep a lock of the toddler's blond hair. The child's body will be buried in Banning, Calif., where both parents are from. The burial had been Kristyanna's father's intention.

Bergeron will also be able to hold a separate memorial service for the girl with her family members in California, though no date has been set.

A service held by Cowan's family is expected to take place Saturday, said Cowan's attorney, William Errico.

"I'll miss her smile and her eyes," Cowan said. "She loved everybody. I'll miss being with her. But I'll be with her in my heart."

Bergeron said her main objection wasn't to keep the girl's remains to be taken to California, but about being unable to play a role in her daughter's burial.

Cowan had last week filed an injunction and a temporary restraining order against Bergeron and Desert Memorial, where Kristyanna's body is being held.

Loehrer ordered Cowan to pay for Kristyanna's burial expenses, saying the girl's mother couldn't afford them.

A day after Brittney Bergeron was moved from University Medical Center to a rehabilitation hospital, a family court judge awarded child welfare authorities temporary protective custody of the 10-year-old girl who was paralyzed after getting stabbed two weeks ago.

"The goal is to make sure Brittney is safe and protected," said Susan Klein-Rothschild, director of Clark County Family Services. "She is going to have special needs. We need to look at is her developmental needs, emotional needs, physical needs."

Court records show Tammy Bergeron has a history of drug abuse, and the Mesquite Police Department is expected to begin investigating Tammy Bergeron's parenting habits. Police said the girls were stabbed while they were alone in their trailer as Tammy Bergeron gambled.

Another family court hearing will be held Feb. 14, in which Tammy Bergeron and her former husband, Kevin Bergeron, will resume their long-running custody battle.

Tammy Bergeron said Brittney was doing well after having been moved from University Medical Center to a local rehabilitation center earlier this week.

"(Brittney) got fully dressed this morning and she's starting to eat," she said. "She misses her sister tremendously."

Brittney won't attend her sister's funeral but she will participate by writing a poem or a letter to be read during the ceremony, Tammy Bergeron's lawyer, Steve Wolfson, said.

The two suspects in the stabbings, Beau Maestas, 19, and his sister Monique Maestas, 16, are being held in Utah and are expected to be extradited back to Nevada.