Meliceli Ortiz Vázquez, accused of stabbing her seven-year-old son and her sister during an incident at a home in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, on May 4, waived the preliminary hearing stage in Aibonito court, the Office of Court Administration (OAT) confirmed. The OAT said the arraignment reading was set for Monday, November 30, at 9:00 AM. The development emerged during a status conference held at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, November 10, in courtroom 4 of the Aibonito Judicial Center before Judge Carol M. Ortiz Rivera.
Although waiving that stage is often tied to plea negotiations between the parties, it has not been confirmed that is the case here, and the court file showed no annotation referring to it. According to police, Ortiz Vázquez, 41, allegedly wounded her son multiple times with a bladed weapon in the early hours of Monday, May 4, at a residence in the Jardines neighborhood of Barranquitas, and allegedly stabbed her 44-year-old sister with a knife at the sister’s home, where the events occurred.
The woman and her son were spending the night there. The boy was taken to the Centro Médico in Río Piedras and the sister was treated at the Menonita hospital in Aibonito; both recovered, police said. On May 5, Justice Secretary Lourdes L. Gómez Torres said the department filed five charges: two for attempted murder, two under the Weapons Law and one under Law 57-2023 for the Prevention of Mistreatment and Preservation of Family Unity.
Prosecutors Juan Santos Santiago and Ámbar Ramos Ortiz are handling the case. After hearing evidence from agent Elizabeth Alvarado Morales, Judge Jenny Malavé of Aibonito court found probable cause and set $500,000 bail, which she did not pay and was booked into a penal institution.