By Kathleen Gilbert
SOUTHBRIDGE, MA, August 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A young Massachusetts man is in custody after allegedly stabbing his ex-girlfriend, reportedly in anger that she would not abort their unborn child, according to police.
Police say they found Leah Diver, 28, with multiple stab wounds lying in a pool of blood in the hallway of her apartment late at night, as reported by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Police quickly tracked down ex-boyfriend Alex Santana, 18, who they say admitted he told his ex-girlfriend “she was going to abort the pregnancy 'one way or the other.' ”
According to Santana, he and Diver had been arguing for the past several weeks “over the fact that she was pregnant with his child and he wanted her to have an abortion.” In their report on Santana's account, police wrote: “Diver was adamant about not aborting the pregnancy. Santana went to Diver's residence with the intent to have Diver abort the pregnancy.”
A second Telegram article reports that Southbridge Police Chief Daniel R. Charette, as well as indirect testimony from Santana's friends, concluded that Diver was not actually pregnant at the time of the attack. Police were unable to substantiate the claim with Diver, who was listed in critical condition yesterday.
Santana's mother, Carmen Beauchamp, told the newspaper that her son was developmentally delayed.
“I'm not minimizing what he did. It's bad. He is going to have to pay for it,” she said.
Santana is charged with armed assault with intent to murder, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. At an arraignement Friday afternoon, a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. The young man is now being held on $500,000 cash bail in Worcester County Jail. The pretrial hearing was scheduled for September 3.