No death penalty decision made yet in case of Maestas siblings

Erica D. Johnson

Monday, May 19, 2003 | 11:10 a.m.

Prosecutors still have not determined whether they will seek the death penalty against the Utah teens charged in the stabbing attack that left a toddler dead and her sister paralyzed, District Attorney David Roger said this morning.

The announcement came during an arraignment for Beau Maestas, 19, and his 17-year-old sister, Monique, before District Judge Donald Mosley.

"It will probably be about two weeks before we will know," Roger told Mosley.

The teens face murder, attempted murder, burglary with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit murder in the Jan. 22 attack that killed 3-year-old Kristyanna Cowan and left her 10-year-old half-sister, Brittney Bergeron, paralyzed from the waist down.

Beau Maestas, who appeared with his attorneys, Deputy Public Defenders Howard Brooks and Joseph Abood, pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case.

But Deputy Special Public Defender Phil Kohn, Monique Maestas' attorney, asked Mosley to enter a not guilty plea on his client's behalf.

Kohn said he intended to re-file a motion challenging the state law that automatically certifies as adults children 8 and older charged with murder, attempted murder and some sexual assaults.

Kohn, who filed the same motion in Justice Court, said he also disagrees with the state law that allows teens 16 and older to be executed.

"It's all part of the same thing," he said outside the courtroom. "We think the law is wrong. Kids at 16 in stressful situations have a tendency to make bad decisions."

The siblings, who waived their right to a speedy trial, will appear in court for a status check on June 23. Their trial is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 26.

This morning's arraignment came after the pair earlier this month waived their right to a preliminary hearing before a Mesquite Justice of the Peace. That move allowed the case to proceed directly to District Court.

The stabbings took place in a trailer outside the CasaBlanca Casino in Mesquite. The girls' mother, Tamara Bergeron, and her boyfriend, Robert Schmidt, were in the casino at the time, authorities said. A police report says Beau Maestas told police the attack came in retaliation for a bogus drug deal with Bergeron and Schmidt.

He claimed the couple sold him $125 worth of methamphetamine that turned out to be table salt, police said. Bergeron denies the allegation.