Slain girl’s mother has drug record

Jen Lawson

Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2003 | 11:04 a.m.

The mother of two girls who were stabbed last week in Mesquite is a convicted drug offender, and her ex-husband had been fighting for custody of their 10-year-old daughter when the knife attack occurred, according to court records.

Mesquite Deputy Police Chief Joe Szalay said Tammy Bergeron and her boyfriend, Robert Schmidt, could face charges, including child endangerment, for leaving the children alone, and could be charged under a state "turkey law" which makes it a crime to misrepresent and sell a substance as an illegal drug.

The 10-year-old's grandmother, Grace Bergeron, said she wants authorities to file charges against Tammy.

"I hope and pray she goes to jail," she said. "Those kids didn't have a chance with Tammy as a mother. One of them is dead and another is paralyzed because of her."

Family members say there were custody issues involving the two girls.

Tammy Bergeron's two daughters, Brittney Bergeron, 10, and Kristyanna Cowan, 3, were stabbed in a recreational vehicle Jan. 22 in Mesquite.

Kristyanna Cowan died at University Medical Center several hours after the stabbing. Her funeral had been scheduled for this morning at Woodlawn Cemetery but was put on hold after the child's father alleged that Tammy Bergeron had only temporary custody of the girl and didn't have the right to unilaterally decide where she should be buried. Kristyanna's father lives in California.

The attack also left Kristyanna's sister, Brittney Bergeron, paralyzed, and Brittney's custody is at issue as well.

Police say a 19-year-old man and his 16-year-old sister attacked the girls. The man allegedly told police he was angry because Bergeron and her boyfriend sold him table salt instead of methamphetamine.

Investigators say the man went to the RV to get his money back and planned to stab or cut Schmidt. Bergeron and Schmidt were out of the RV during the early morning attack.

Neither Bergeron nor Schmidt could be reached for comment Monday. In her only public statement, Bergeron said it was a robbery attempt. She denied drugs were involved during an interview with Channel 3, saying, "There was no drug deal. There was nothing like that. Nothing."

Tammy Bergeron pleaded guilty in August 2000 to possession of narcotics in Riverside County, Calif., court records show. She was placed on probation and ordered to complete a diversion program.

According to court records, she completed the program.

Kevin Bergeron, Brittney's father, split from Tammy in 1998. They've been battling over custody of Brittney, and the case is still pending, court records show.

"I had custody before," Kevin Bergeron said in a brief phone interview Monday. "I didn't know where Brittney was and I was trying to find her to get custody."

A mediator in Riverside County, Calif., awarded Kevin Bergeron custody of Brittney in January 2002 and permitted his mother, Grace, to care for her while Kevin worked. In April, however, Tammy was given custody and Kevin Bergeron was granted visitation rights.

Kevin Bergeron's family said Tammy left California without telling him where she was going, and that Tammy used Brittney as a baby-sitter for her half-sister Kristyanna.

"We were still going to court when this happened," said Kevin's mother, Grace Bergeron, of Beaumont, Calif. "He would've gotten her back, but this happened right in the middle of everything. He can't get over the fact that his daughter is paralyzed."

Kevin Bergeron's sister, Sharon Quezambra, said the system let them down.

"We were trying to get Brittney back because she was in a bad situation," Quezambra said. "Brittney had been seen walking around late at night with her little sister. I believe if the authorities here had done more investigating, none of this would have happened."

Tammy Bergeron has lived in Mesquite for the last few years, and the Mesquite Police Department has no record of parental neglect complaints against her. Neither does the Clark County Department of Family Services.

Kevin and Tammy Bergeron split up because of Tammy's drug use, Grace Bergeron said.

According to police, Beau Maestas, 19, confessed to the stabbing and implicated his 16-year-old sister, Monique. Both arrested in Utah hours after the slaying and last week were charged with murder and attempted murder.

They have refused extradition, but Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn will ask Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt for an order to return them to face the charges.