Mother of slain girl charged with abuse

By Matt Pordum

Monday, Oct. 11, 2004 | 11:39 a.m.

The mother of two children who were stabbed in Mesquite in January 2003 now faces criminal charges for leaving the youths alone at their mobile home the day of the attack.

Tamara Ann Bergeron and her boyfriend, Robert John Schmidt II, each face 18 counts of child abuse and neglect for leaving Brittney Bergeron and her 3-year-old half-sister, Kristyanna Cowan, by themselves at the Casablanca RV Park.

Authorities allege Bergeron and Schmidt went to the casino at the nearby Casablanca resort leaving the children defenseless.

Beau and Monique Maestas have been charged in connection with an attack on the girls that killed Kristyanna and left Brittney paralyzed from the waist down.

The charges filed against Bergeron and Schmidt in Mesquite Justice Court on Friday allege the couple failed to provide adequate care for the children from November 2002 through the day of the attack. They were both booked at the Clark County Detention Center on Friday.

Authorities allege Maestases carried out the attack after discovering Bergeron and Schmidt sold them bogus methamphetamine.

The siblings remain jailed while awaiting a May 2005 trial on murder and other charges.