Mother, Melissa Gutierrez, Chged W/ Negligent Homicide After Son Drowns In Bath Tub/6.17.2013 Gutierrez pleads guilty to negligent homicide in plea deal, gets 5-10 yrs, could be out in 3 years!

By Carolyn Dube Email the author 5:46 am

Attorneys seeking to suppress statements made to police by Melissa Gutierrez the day her son died told the court on Monday that their client suffers from a medical condition, which they say affected her thinking when she made the decision to speak to police that day in August 2011, according to an article on NashuaTelegraph.com.

Gutierrez, 27, is facing a trial for negligent homicide in in the death of her 8-month-old son, Christian Ntapalis, who drowned in the bathtub at Gutierrez's 46 Wilson Hill Road home about a year and a half ago. The baby was found unresponsive in the tub by Gutierrez, who police say left him up there unsupervised for an extended period of time with his 2-year-old brother who was bathing with him.

On Monday, attorneys for Gutierrez painted a picture of a life fraught with pain and emotional distress caused in part by the death of her father following a fight she had with him and the death of a partner who suffered a heart attack died in her arms. She also struggled at one point in her life with a crack cocaine addiction, was gang raped and at one point turned to prostitution, Dr. Albert Drukteinis, a forensics psychiatrist, told the court.

Druktenis described Gutierrez as suffering from acute stress disorder and said a confused memory brought on by this disorder muddled her understanding of the consequences of what could happen if she spoke with police about the events of the morning her son died. Her attorneys say this is reason to toss the statements from evidence in a trial expected to be held this summer.

Judge Diane Nicolosi took the case under advisement and will later issue a written decision on the matter.

Gutierrez, who was originally out on bail following Ntapalis' death, has been living in jail since October when Nicolosi remanded her into custody following series of unrelated arrests in 2012.

Gutierrez was arrested twice in Manchester in September, the first time on Sept. 14 on a charge of theft by unauthorized taking and the second on Sept. 28 for driving after suspension, a second offense.

Gutierrez was placed on house arrest by Nicolosi after she was arrested in April for theft and possession of a controlled drug. She was arrested in Salem for shoplifting from Lord & Taylor at the Mall at Rockingham Park.

“Let me not have you leave this court without understanding that you cannot do this again,” Nicolosi told Gutierrez during the April 30 hearing.

On Oct. 5, Nicolosi said Gutierrez is a danger to the community and ordered her to return to jail.

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NASHUA - Attorneys on both sides of the negligent homicide case against Melissa Gutierrez - accused in the 2011 drowning death of her baby - have agreed to a gag order and won't discuss the Merrimack mom's plea deal.

"I anticipate we will keep it confidential until the plea and sentencing hearing," Hillsborough County Attorney Kent Smith said of the 27-year-old's June 17 scheduled appearance in Hillsborough County Superior Court.

The attorneys in the case decided to work out a negotiated plea and sentence "without the glare" of the media or the public, Smith said Monday.

Gutierrez, 27, is facing charges of negligent homicide, manslaughter, two counts of reckless conduct and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child for the Aug. 25, 2011, drowning at 46 Wilson Hill Road, Merrimack.

Police allege that she left her two children, an 8-month-old baby and a 2-year-old boy, unattended in the bathtub for an extended period of time with the water running. The youngest boy, Christian Ntapalis, drowned.

Last month, a medical expert testified that Melissa Gutierrez has led a life surrounded with death and drug addiction.

Prior to her son's drowning, Gutierrez lost her father in a fatal car accident, and also held her former partner while he died in her arms of a heart attack, according to Dr. Albert Drukteinis, who testified earlier that the young mother had an addiction to crack cocaine, prostituted herself and was the victim of a gang rape.

Court records indicate that the mother may have fallen asleep on the couch while water overflowed the bathtub where her two children played during the summer of 2011, eventually flooding the bathroom and causing water to leak through to the basement ceiling.

Defense counsel has been attempting to suppress statements that Gutierrez made to police following the death of her son. An attorney for Gutierrez, Anthony Sculimbrene, alleges the statements were obtained while Gutierrez was hysterical over the baby's death.

Drukteinis maintains that Gutierrez was suffering from mental illness that affected her ability to make rational decisions when speaking with authorities on three different occasions on the day of the boy's death and the day after.
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No wonder the lawyers were gagged on the plea deal back in April! This ***** is getting off practically scott free! The above post is a must read!!!!

I was sooooo angry when I read that!

Well, YA!!