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A teenage mother accused of killing her toddler by breaking his spine denied Thursday ever hurting the boy, insisting the only physical discipline she used was a rare slap on his hands.
Taking the stand at her murder trial in 3rd District Court, Adrianna Lucero also testified that her then-boyfriend never accepted the toddler, who was her son from a previous relationship.
Sergio Martinez-Gonzalez made fun of the boy when he cried and had pushed him "more than once," she said.
"He would call my son a 'bastard' all the time," Lucero said.
She testified her boyfriend would get upset when she hugged and kissed Alejandro, who was almost 2 when he died, and asked why she did not show the same affection to the couple's 5-month-old twins. Lucero said she loved and was affectionate with all her children.
Her defense attorneys have said Martinez-Gonzalez, now 27, is responsible for the boy's death, which he denies.
Prosecutors contend Lucero, then 17, was under stress from caring for three young children and lost control. She is charged with first-degree murder and second-degree child abuse for allegedly inflicting a bruise on the boy's back about a week before his death, and is being tried as an adult.
Lucero, who lived with her mother in West Valley City, testified that she was watching a movie with Martinez-Gonzalez in the room he rents at a Kearns home on Aug. 24 when her boyfriend took Alejandro to another room to get Jell-O. He returned about 30 seconds later with the boy, who was twitching and really pale, she said.
The mother said she assumed Alejandro was having a seizure similar to those that afflict one of her twins. Doctors have been unable to determine a cause for the twin's seizures but say there are no signs they are caused by abuse, according to evidence presented at trial.
After calling 911, she and Martinez-Gonzalez attempted CPR before paramedics arrived, Lucero said. Alejandro was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Lucero initially told investigators that she was with Alejandro when he had a seizure but later said Martinez-Gonzalez was alone with the toddler immediately before he was injured. She testified that she was worried police would learn that Martinez-Gonzalez was undocumented if they questioned him and that he would be deported to Mexico.
"I just wanted us to be a family," Lucero said, crying.
Later, after learning her son's spine had been snapped, she told police what really happened, she said.
Martinez-Gonzalez testified earlier in the trial that Lucero took Alejandro out of the room for the Jell-O. He was charged with obstructing justice, but the charge was dropped after prosecutors said they couldn't produce enough evidence to move forward.
On Thursday, a Salt Lake County sheriff's sergeant testified that Martinez-Gonzalez was told investigators had talked to immigration authorities and that "if he worked with us, they would be able to work with him."
Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday morning.
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