Closing arguments presented in Maestas penalty hearing

Wednesday, June 8, 2005 | 9:06 a.m.

A prosecutor waived the butcher knife Beau Maestas used to kill a 3-year-old girl and paralyze her 10-year-old half sister as he told a jury during closing arguments Tuesday that Maestas had "earned the death penalty."

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Schwartz said no other punishment would come even "remotely close" for Maestas, who pleaded guilty to one count each of murder, attempted murder and burglary, all with use of a deadly weapon for killing 3-year-old Kristyanna Cowan and stabbing her half-sister Brittney Bergeron.

Schwartz told the jury Maestas shouldn't be shown any form of mercy at sentencing, but he offered some advice to the 12 jurors if the thought of letting Maestas live came to mind.

"When you think about mercy, think about that butcher's knife. He couldn't even take on those two little girls with his hands. He needed this,' Schwartz said as he held up the knife.

"He's deserving of nothing, deserving of the ultimate penalty, and even that would be more humane that what he did to those two little girls."

Schwartz and District Attorney David Roger contend Maestas and his sister, Monique, committed the killings after they discovered that the children's mother, Tamara Ann Bergeron at the time, and her now husband, John Schmidt, sold them fake methamphetamine for $125.

No trial date has been set for Monique Maestas, who faces the same charges as her brother plus one count of conspiracy to commit murder.

Roger reminded the jurors of a letter written by Maestas that was intercepted by authorities in which he wrote, "Three used to be my lucky number, only now when I think of the number three I see a little body hanging eye level from a knife that's half her size that's in my bloody hand.'

Roger quoted from another letter Maestas wrote to his sister: "I confessed to slaughtering those little piggies.'

The district attorney said the letters were "the words of a killer."

He said if the jury who had all "sat in this courtroom and breathed the air of a killer" came to a decision that was "anything less than death, to stop and think for a few minutes about a 30-pound baby, and if all of you do that, so be it."

"This man is a killer. The death penalty is made for him," Roger said.

Schwartz urged the jury to reject psychologist Dr. David Schmidt's opinion that the letters Maestas wrote were an example that he can " talk the talk, but when I look at Beau he doesn't seem to walk the walk.'

"With all due respect to Dr. Schmidt on Jan. 22, 2003, this defendant walked the walk," Schwartz said. "He walked into that trailer and took a knife and thrust it through the skull of a living, breathing girl."

Schwartz said the letters reflected Beau Maestas' true feeling because they were written to his family and friends and not to other inmates he was looking to impress with "being a tough guy."

The prosecutor called Maestas a "coward" and questioned the sincerity of the remorse Maestas offered during a brief public apology in court on Monday.

"Two and a half years after the attack and 24 hours before you (the jury) decide if he should die, he tells you he's sorry," Schwartz said. "He's sorry, we should all go home, he's sorry. He's only sorry that he finds himself in the situation he finds himself in today."

Schwartz showed the jurors the gruesome autopsy photos of Kristyanna and the photos of Brittney in bed and a clips from a DVD that show the now 13-year-old girl struggling to get in and out of her wheelchair with her paralyzed legs.

He told the jury that giving Maestas a life sentence would give him three meals a day, allow him to watch movies, communicate with family and see the sun rise and set -- all things Kristyanna will never do again because he ended her life.

"What would Kristyanna Cowan give to be in a situation to be with her sister once again," Schwartz asked. "That's impossible because of one individual, the defendant."

Maestas' attorney, Pete Christiansen, cautioned jurors about following the "eye for an eye" mentality being pressed on them by the prosecutors seeking the death penalty.

He said "but vengeance is saved for the lord" and added "that's because vengeance, it's been said, is a slippery mistress."

The defense attorney said the jurors "cannot be lured into the trap" of sentencing Maestas to death to avenge Kristyanna's death because "years from now you won't remember me or the judge's words, what you'll remember is your decision, and you won't be comforted that you made a decision based on vengeance."

Christiansen said the jurors must weigh Maestas' background in sentencing him, and if they did, they would realize that "You've spent more time caring about him in one week than his parents did in 19 years."

Maestas' co-counsel, Deputy Public Defender Tom Erickson, reminded the jury of the "tragic upbringing" Maestas experienced.

The public defender said Harry Maestas, the biological father of Beau and Monique Maestas, is a convicted killer who was behind bars for most of his children's lives.

Erickson said on the rare occasions that Harry Maestas was out of custody he would "whip Beau because he couldn't tie his shoes' and beat Beau's mother as well.

He said Maestas' mother forced the boy to start using marijuana when he was 3 to combat his being hyperactive.

Erickson said Maestas' mother sold drugs from their home, which later led to Maestas' alcohol abuse and to start using methamphetamine starting at the age of 12.

He said "the complete lack of love or acceptance from anyone meaningful in his (Maestas) life" shows he is "not deserving of the death penalty."

Christiansen said Maestas was not the "worst of the worst" as the prosecutors had pegged him, which was shown by the fact he chose the "path of honesty and admission" by confessing to police and pleading guilty to the charges.

He said life wasn't going to be "a bowl of cherries" for Maestas in prison, where those who kill children are in great danger from other inmates.

The defense attorney stressed "everyone that knows Beau finds value and redeeming qualities in his life" and his crime although inexcusable was not in any way in line with the person Maestas was throughout his 19 years.

Christiansen said the jurors should avoid making a hasty decision on Maestas' fate because unlike the way people were put to death in the "old days" the jurors would not have the luxury of "plausible deniability."

Christiansen said when people were executed by firing squad one of the shooters was traditionally given a blank bullet, allowing all members of the firing squad to believe that they only fired a blank.

"There are no blanks in this case," Christiansen said. "You must have a deliberate and specific intent to take a life, and when you do that, know it will happen. None of you will have plausible deniability."

The jury deliberated Maestas' fate for roughly an hour on Tuesday afternoon and were expected to resume this morning.