Background: Hickory Ridge Middle School in Memphis, Tenn. (Google Maps). Inset: Miriam Castillo (Shelby County (Tenn.) Sheriff’s Office).
A Memphis mom is behind bars after allegedly attacking her son with a screwdriver after picking him up from school.
Miriam Castillo, 44, is charged with felony aggravated child abuse and misdemeanor domestic assault, according to Shelby County court records in Tennessee. According to witnesses, her son was seen running and yelling “she is trying to kill me” on Tuesday afternoon.
One witness told police that the victim was “assaulted by his mother,” according to an affidavit of complaint reviewed by Law&Crime. The victim, whose age was not provided in the document, said that his mother “was driving reckless[ly] after she picked him up from school.”
Castillo’s son told police that his mother “attempted to put him out of the moving vehicle while on the way to pick up his sister,” according to the affidavit. At that point, the boy called his father, who “advised for him to take [Castillo’s] keys once the vehicle was stopped.”
When he tried to do that, however, Castillo “proceeded to bit[e] him on his right hand an[d] left elbow.” She then allegedly “took an unknown screwdriver and stabbed him in the left leg breaking the skin,” the affidavit said. At that point, the boy got out of the car and started running until a witness spotted him and police were called.
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The boy was treated for minor injuries, the affidavit said.
Officers were able to locate Castillo and observed that they “smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from her person.” She reportedly then admitted that she had been drinking, but didn’t know how many drinks she had.
“Officers were unable to get a statement from suspect Miriam Castillo about the incident due to her being under the influence,” the affidavit noted.
After the incident, both the victim and his sister were released into the custody of their father, police said.
According to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Castillo is being held in jail on $40,000 bond. She has a court date scheduled for Friday.
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