A 26-year-old Chicago mother made her first appearance in court Monday, charged with stabbing her 7-year-old son, allegedly for making a mess in their Rogers Park apartment.
Staff at Evanston Hospital contacted police Saturday morning when the boy was admitted with a puncture wound to his abdomen, as CrimeOnline reported. The child was transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital, where he underwent surgery for his serious injuries and was listed in fair condition.
Llovana Torres was arrested hours later and charged with aggravated battery of a victim under 13, WTTW reported. Prosecutors said in court Monday morning that Terres was angry when she woke up and found a mess in the apartment she had spent the previous night cleaning.
The mother allegedly hit the boy several times before he ran into a kitchen and hid in a cabinet under the sink. When she was unable to drag the boy out, she grabbed a knife and stabbed him repeatedly until he yelled “Ouch!” the prosecutors said.
At that point, she took the bleeding child to another apartment in the same building, where her mother lived. The child’s grandmother told Torres to take the boy to a hospital, which she did.
According to prosecutors, Torres told her mother she had threatened to “cut or stab” the child if he didn’t come out of the cabinet. They also said she called her mother after her arrest and told her not to tell anyone what happened or at least tell “a different story.”
The boy had a ruptured diaphragm and remains hospitalized with a ventilator.
Torres allegedly told police that she accidentally stabbed the boy because she was waving the knife around in the cabinet while trying to find him.
A judge ordered her held without bond pending trial.
Her next court appearance is June 13, Block Club Chicago reported.
