Mother of slain girl wants death penalty

Friday, Jan. 24, 2003 | 11:25 a.m.

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"I can't forgive them because my girls are everything to me," Bergeron said while weeping in front of University Medical Center on Thursday. "The attack on my little girls is nothing short of violent, premeditated murder and attempted murder."

"I encourage the prosecutors to go for the death penalty," Bergeron said, but added that "justice will never be served because taking their lives won't bring my baby back."

Prosecutors said Thursday that so far, everything points to a pursuit of death sentences for the alleged attackers of Brittney Bergeron, 10, and Kristyanna Cowan, 3. The children were stabbed repeatedly after being awakened in the family's trailer outside a casino in Mesquite. Kristyanna bled to death.

"Most of Brittney's wounds are defensive wounds (sustained) as she tried to protect her sister," Tamara Bergeron said.

University Medical Center spokesman Rick Plummer said Brittney Bergeron has been upgraded from critical to serious condition in the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit. She has a broken arm and numerous stab wounds to the neck and back and will not walk again, authorities said.

"The last day has been one of the most difficult times in my life," Tamara Bergeron said. "I have realized every parent's worst nightmare."

Bergeron became so distraught during a 10-minute news conference Thursday that she had a Trauma Intervention Programs volunteer step in to finish reading her 3 1/2-page statement.

In her statement, Bergeron described the horrific scene in the RV after the stabbings.

"When I came back to our trailer, I saw my girls lying in a pool of blood, and all I could do was scream for help," she said. "There were so many stab wounds, I couldn't hold them all. It turns out each of my daughters was stabbed dozens of times."

"A piece of me died yesterday when I had to say goodbye to Kissy," Bergeron said, using her pet name for her 3-year-old daughter.

"Now, I have to be strong for my other daughter. I have spent every possible moment by her side," she added.

Bergeron also disputed police accounts of the incident that suggested the attacks came after a fight with Maestas over money.

"I don't want to go into details about the incident, but I do want to set a few things straight that have been misreported," her statement noted.

"We didn't owe anybody money. The people who did this witnessed a woman giving us money, and we believe the attack was an attempt to rob us."

Police have said that the stabbings were retaliation for a drug deal rip-off.

Bergeron thanked people for sending cards, letters and gifts to Brittney. Bergeron also said she and her family are grateful for the police who "have caught the cowards who did this."

The suspects remained in Utah today pending extradition proceedings.