Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Woman who smothered son sentenced

A 39-year-old woman who said a devil voice told her to smother her 9-year-old son was sentenced to jail time, inpatient mental health treatment and five years probation by a judge on Monday.

District Judge Nancy Saitta sentenced Patricia Hood to a suspended prison term of 1 to 6 years and placed her on five years probation. As a condition of probation, however, the judge ordered Hood to spend the next 9 months in custody at the Clark County Detention Center.

Saitta said when Hood completes her jail time she will enter an inpatient mental health facility. Upon finishing the program she will then begin her five years of probation.

If Hood fails to follow the terms of probation, which include ongoing therapy, staying on medication, submitting to drug tests and maintaining full-time employment she could serve 1 to 6 years in prison.

Hood previously pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse and neglect as part of a plea agreement that saw prosecutors dismiss one count of attempted murder for the Nov. 21 incident.

On that date Hood called 911 about 5:30 p.m. after apparently trying to suffocate her son, a police report says. The boy told officers his mother was tucking him in to bed when, "Mommy put the pillow over my face and said, 'I'm gonna kill you,' " according to the report.

Hood's two other children, a 16-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl, were both away on a church youth group retreat to California at the time of the incident.

Police arrested her at her home on Gentilly Lane near Rainbow Boulevard and Smoke Ranch Road. When an officer asked Hood what happened, she said, "My blood ran cold and a devil voice was telling me we were bad and it was our time," according to the arrest report.

Hood said the voice also told her, "Your son is bad, you have bad seed ... There is nothing good in you," according to the report.

Two doctors have evaluated Hood and deemed her competent to stand trial.

On Monday Hood stood crying in chains as she addressed Saitta prior to sentencing and although she acknowledged her crime she never directly apologized to the victim, her 9-year-old son.

"I understand what I did was horrible," Hood said. "No children should have to go through what they've gone through. I'm sorry for not taking my medication. If I could take it back I would.

"I'm asking for probation for one reason, so I can go through counseling and get the help I so need so this won't ever happen again."

Despite Hood's statement and a tearful plea from her 16-year-old son in court, Saitta made the 9 months of jail time a part of the sentence saying it was needed to ensure the "safety of the community, safety of children and the welfare of Ms. Hood although it may not look like that."

Saitta urged Hood's son, who sitting only three feet from his mother broke down in tears upon hearing Saitta's sentence, to "continue to love your mother the way you do" and that the judge would be proud "to call you my son" for the courage he displayed in court.

Hood's son said the "best thing for me, my brother and my sister" would be for the judge to give their mother probation.

In response to Saitta's question as to why he was crying while Hood addressed the court, the teen broke down in tears once more.

"It was a happy cry because I haven't heard her voice in so long," Hood's son said. "We've talked on the phone, but to have her right in front of me speaking I was very happy to hear her voice."

The 16-year-old said it seemed that only "the state of Nevada was against my mom."

"The state of Nevada doesn't know my mom," he said. "They know her name is Patricia and her age and where she lives, but nobody has taken the time to get to know her and what her favorite color is or what she does for fun or what makes her happy.

"I don't think anyone can make this decision without knowing her."

Hood's sister, Karen Harris, who has temporary legal custody of and the 16-year-old, his 14-year-old sister and his brother victim, all live with her and her husband in Arizona.

Harris said when she received custody of the children she learned their father had failed to get them any counseling and failed to properly feed or clean the children while they stayed with him and his girlfriend at a Budget Suites.

Harris said within 20 minutes of picking up the children the 9-year-old victim asked her "when is my mom coming home Aunt Karen, you look like my mom, I want my mom."

Harris said the victim's son also told her "I need my mom out of jail so she can spend time with me." She said he's "sad, withdrawn and gets angry" and is often "confused and imagines her (Hood) with him."

Harris told Saitta she had already found a mental health facility suited for Hood's needs and that she could live with their mother at a separate home in Arizona.

Saitta said although she appreciated Harris' testimony and the commitment of her and the several other members of Hood's family in court she asked "where were they when all this was going on?"

"These children were not being protected and I'm not going to take another chance," Saitta said.

Tim Hood said his ex-wife deserved prison time for her actions saying the pain the event has caused his son is "not something that he will get through over night or a couple months, but over a lifetime."

Deputy District Attorney Susan Pate said Hood needed to serve prison time because "she's already got a great deal and probation would be one break too many."

If Hood would have been tried and convicted of the second-degree murder charge that was dismissed as part of negotiations she could have faced 4 to 40 years in prison.

In arguing for prison time for Hood the prosecutor said "you have to send a message, this is a 9-year-old defenseless child she did this to."

"Imagine what this does to the child," Pate said. "What could be going through that child's head and that he will have to go through the rest of his life.

"Mommy smothered me in bed and she's out doing what she wants not doing prison time. What guarantee is there this won't happen again?"

Hood's attorney, Robert Lucherini, said both the prosecution and himself realized the "defining problem" in Hood's case was "mental illness."

Lucherini said there was "no defense, no excuses" for what Hood did, but he did offer up the fact Hood was suffering from poor finances, a husband who had left her and flaunted a new love in front of her and mental illness as tools to "help us understand what happened."

Although Lucherini would have liked Saitta to sentence Hood to straight probation, he lauded the judge's skill in achieving justice.

"She (Saitta) did a wonderful job balancing the concerns of the community and the family," Lucherini said. "It wasn't an easy decision as I can't imagine sitting there like she (Saitta) did telling a son his mother would have to go to jail."

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