EDMONTON - An Edmonton woman charged with first-degree murder in the death of her seven-year-old son was remanded to Alberta Hospital for a psychiatric assessment after making her first court appearance Friday morning.
Nerlin Sarmiento, 32, stood with her hands at her sides and her legs shackled as her family, including her husband, watched tearfully from the gallery.
There are “very significant mental health issues at play here,” Sarmiento’s lawyer, Peter Royal told the court.
Sarmiento has been in custody since being arrested Tuesday morning at her south-side apartment after phoning 911 to report her son was in medical distress. Paramedics found Omar Jajoy at the apartment building near 53rd Avenue and 109th Street. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Royal told court his client has been held in isolation at the Edmonton Remand Centre and was on suicide watch.
She has been hospitalized twice in the past for her “significant mental health issues,” he said.
Judge Shelagh Creagh ordered Sarmiento be sent to Alberta Hospital for 30 days so she can be evaluated to determine her fitness to stand trial and criminal responsibility.
A no-contact order bars Sarmiento from having any association with her husband, Florentino Jajoy, the couple’s 10-year-old daughter and another relative, Maria Cristana.
Sarmiento’s family cried and blew kisses to her as she stood in the prisoner’s box, her eyes wet with tears.
A court sketch of Sarmiento in court on Friday by Amanda McRoberts for Global News
She spoke only once, when the topic of an interpreter came up.
“I don’t understand everything, but I try to understand,” Sarmiento said.
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