Posted on: Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Near-drowning of son brings probation

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

A Kaimuki woman was sentenced to 10 years' probation yesterday for trying to drown her 9-year-old son in the bathtub last summer.

District Judge Derrick Chan also ordered Marlene Mexia, 46, to continue receiving mental health treatment at the Hawai'i State Hospital in Kane'ohe until discharged by her doctor. He said she could have no contact with her son Michael, whom she tried to drown July 29, 2003, unless meetings are approved by her probation officer.

Mexia has never said what led her to try to take her son's life. She said nothing in court yesterday.

City Deputy Prosecutor Dan Oyasato said Mexia called police and told them she had drowned the boy.

When officers arrived, they found Mexia sitting calmly on the steps in front of her home, Oyasato said. She told police they would find her son floating face down in the bathtub, but he was found floating face up.

"The defendant held her son's head under water and probably believed he was dead when she left the bathroom," Oyasato said.

The boy recovered fully and lives with his father.

A panel of three mental health experts examined Mexia, but it is unclear what caused her to try to kill her son, Oyasato said.

"The reintegration of this family should be the last thing on anyone's mind," Oyasato said.

Mexia was charged initially with attempted second-degree murder but pleaded guilty in April to a reduced charge of attempted manslaughter.

Had she been convicted of attempted second-degree murder, she would have faced life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The plea-agreement means that Mexia will be on probation — and under court supervision — for the next 10 years, her lawyer Victor Bakke said.

Bakke estimated that Mexia will be treated at the State Hospital for six to eight months and then probably will be released to a halfway house.

He said Mexia has a history of mental health problems, including a bipolar disorder and that experts who have examined her said she has multiple disorders and was suffering from "extreme emotional distress" when the attempted drowning took place.

"Since day one when she realized what was going on, all she has wanted was to be in the hospital for treatment," Bakke said.

Mexia's condition is much improved as a result of medication, Bakke said.

Reach David Waite at 525-8030 or at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.