Phoenix-area mother accused of killing baby to be charged with 1st-degree murder
Feb 1, 2017, 8:21 PM | Updated: 8:23 pm
(Facebook/Buckeye Police Department)
(Facebook/Buckeye Police Department)
PHOENIX — A Phoenix-area mother who is suspected of stabbing her 5-month-baby to death will now face first-degree murder charges, Buckeye police said Wednesday.
Andrea Portillo (Photo: Buckeye Police)
Andrea Portillo, 29, was originally charged with second-degree murder, but police requested that she be charged with first-degree murder, as well as felony child abuse and disorderly conduct, Sgt. Jason Weeks said.
Weeks did not give a reason Wednesday as to why the charges were upgraded.
Portillo was arrested Monday after her 5-month-old son passed away at Phoenix Children’s Hospital from stab wounds.
She told police that she had been hearing voices in her head and was not in control of her actions at the time.
A police probable cause statement released Tuesday said officers responding to the incident arrived to find the boy’s grandmother holding him and screaming, while Portillo was covered in blood as she stood behind the grandmother.
Joshua Remele, a neighbor who lives across the street from Portillo’s home, told KPNX-TV that he hadn’t previously noticed anything alarming about the people living in the house. He said they had recently moved into the home.
