13-year-old stabbing victim pleads with judge to be adopted

By Matt Pordum

Monday, May 16, 2005 | 9:43 a.m.

Family Court Judge Gerald Hardcastle has given himself two weeks to decide if he should grant the emotional request of 13-year-old stabbing victim Brittney Bergeron, who pleaded, "I want to be adopted."

Hardcastle had cleared the courtroom of spectators Friday for the controversial and unique appearance by Brittany, who asked to speak in her mother's parental rights case, which stems from the attack 2 1/2 years ago in Mesquite that claimed the life of her little sister and left her paralyzed from the waste down.

Brittney said although she didn't want to live with her mother, Tamara Schmidt, again it "won't change the fact that I love her."

Police said Schmidt left her daughters alone in a trailer at the Casablanca RV Park in Mesquite while she gambled. Siblings Beau and Monique Maestas, 19 and 16, respectively, at the time of the attack, are scheduled to stand trial May 31 in connection with the stabbings.

They were allegedly angry when they found out Schmidt's then-boyfriend, now-husband Robert Schmidt sold them table salt instead of methamphetamine, according to police documents.

Since being released from the hospital, Brittney has been living with foster parents, who want to adopt her.

"If my mom couldn't take care of me before, she can't take care of me now," said Brittney, who is confined to a wheelchair and needs a catheter.

"There are a lot more things she'd have to do to take care of me. It's a lot of work."

In a closed courtroom Bergeron sat holding a large, stuffed animal in her wheelchair as she explained why at an earlier hearing she said she wanted to go home to her mother.

"I said I wanted to go home, I was saying what my mom wanted me to say, not how I felt," Bergeron said.

The seventh grader said her mother never told her to tell Hardcastle to say that, but "sort of" bribed her by saying she would buy her things and telling her "I love you, I want you to come home."

Bergeron broke down in tears, which paused the hearing for several minutes, but regained her composure to answer questions from Schmidt's attorney, Steve Caruso, who would later say neither he nor Schmidt wanted to be asked. Caruso called the decision to have Bergeron testify at the hearing "absolutely despicable, Tamara (Schmidt) didn't want me to ask any questions."

The decision to have Bergeron testify at her mother's termination of parental rights hearing might be unprecedented in Nevada.

Hardcastle said he has heard thousands of termination-of-parental-rights hearings, but this was "the first time I can remember a child being called to testify." He said half of those hearings have been as contentious as Schmidt's.

Prior to Bergeron's testimony the judge made it clear that if Bergeron were to "react badly to the process," he would stop her from testifying.

The judge closed the courtroom during Bergeron's testimony but allowed the media and interested parties to watch the testimony via a video feed in the judge's chambers.

Caruso said the prosecution's decision to have Bergeron testify was "worse than desperation, they were playing to the cameras."

"The district attorneys on this case are good people, but they have marching orders from above," Caruso said. "There is no other reason for them having Brittany testify other than to posture for the criminal case."

The Schmidts are facing charges of child abuse and neglect in connection with the stabbing attack.

As to how a ruling on Schmidt's parental rights would affect the criminal case Caruso said, "I haven't even thought that far ahead yet."

The defense attorney said the effect Bergeron's testimony could have on her years from now if Hardcastle does terminate Schmidt's rights "would be devastating."

"Imagine the years of therapy that will be required for this child to be able to deal with the knowing she had something to do with breaking the bond with her mother," Caruso said.

Bergeron's attorney, Steve Hiltz, directing attorney for the Children's Attorney Project, said the decision to have Bergeron testify was "absolutely necessary given the facts of the case."

"There has been a lot of speculation that everybody has conspired to take Brittany away from her mom," Hiltz said. "Brittney wanted the judge to know how she felt, and because I can't testify for her and her therapist was excluded from trial, it became obvious she had to be heard in court."

With all of the testimony completed Friday afternoon, Hardcastle gave an inkling as to what he had made of everything that was heard in court for three days.

The judge found it hard to believe that even though Schmidt had completed everything asked of her by Child Protective Services in her case plan, she had her visitation rights decreased, and now prosecutors were asking that her parental rights be terminated.

"You gave her a chance to fail, but even though she succeeded you want her to fail," Hardcastle said.

Although Schmidt has been drug free and has no domestic violence issues to report, attending parenting classes, entered therapy and learned how to take care of her daughter's medical needs, Hardcastle said, the prosecution still won't engage the thought of trying to reunite a mother and daughter.

Hardcastle also chastised the prosecutors for failing to follow his orders to have family therapy sessions for Schmidt and her daughter.

"There were no efforts toward reunification," Hardcastle said. "The court was under the belief we were going to reunite them, but unfortunately it turns out to be untrue."