Reyes
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WILKES-BARRE — Teen homicide suspect Louisa Reyes has had an “unstable” life by being forced to move with her mother at least six times and being bullied in different schools, a psychologist said Friday.
Reyes, 15, is facing charges of second degree murder and robbery as an adult for her alleged role in the brutal slaying of Fred Boote, 58, inside his Donald Court home in Wilkes-Barre. Boote’s body was found by a city police officer returning a dog that got loose on Sept. 14, 2018.
Prosecutors allege Reyes, then 14, and Reynaldo Mercado, 32, killed Boote during a robbery they planned. They believed Boote, who had a relationship with Reyes’ mother, Carmen Cardy, had large sums of cash in his house.
Court records say Mercado got away with $25. He is facing an open count of criminal homicide in court.
Reyes’ attorney, Frank McCabe, filed a petition seeking to decertify the adult charges against her, attempting to have her placed in a juvenile treatment center for rehabilitation.
President Judge Michael T. Vough began the decertification hearing Friday morning as McCabe presented several witnesses, including Matt Stash, a city police detective who led the investigation.
Stash testified he reported to Child Line about a sexual relationship between Reyes and Mercado that allegedly began when she was 13.
After Stash reported the alleged sexual relationship, Luzerne County Children and Youth began an investigation, testified C&Y supervisor Jason Shachokus.
Dr. Frank Dattilio, a licensed forensic psychologist, testified he evaluated Reyes at the county correctional facility and issued a report about her life.
Dattilio said Reyes’ biological father left the family when she was a toddler and did not have an authoritative father figure in her life. She was forced to move five times between Brooklyn, N.Y., Orlando, Fla., a location in Maryland and the Dominican Republican before relocating to live with her mother and grandmother in Wilkes-Barre when she was 12.
Due to the constant moving, Reyes did well in school but often missed classes due to being bullied. During this time, her mother was in abusive relationships Reyes witnessed, Dattilio said.
Dattilio said Reyes had not enjoyed her time living in Wilkes-Barre as she experienced different types of children her own age than what she was accustomed to in Brooklyn. She was also bullied while attending Dodson Elementary School in Wilkes-Barre in what he called “slut-shaming.”
The term refers to the practice of stigmatizing women based on appearance or behavior others judge to be provocative or sexually inappropriate.
In seeking a father figure, Dattilio said an older man who lived on Barney Street “took an interest” in her and gave her marijuana for the first time about two years ago.
“Her mother was lax, she was not authoritative with her daughter,” Dattilio said. “She should have been in a more traditional setting.”
With Reyes moving to five or six different places by the time she was 13 and being bullied, Dattilio said about Reyes, “It taught her you can’t trust people. It taught her to be vigilant.”
Stash, when responding to questions from Assistant District Attorney Tony Ross, said the plan to rob Boote was Reyes.
The detective said Mercado was upset and angry he wasn’t making enough money to support Reyes and her mother. He left their Maffett Street, Wilkes-Barre, apartment with screwdriver intending to rob someone on the street.
When Mercado returned without any money or items, Reyes brought up Boote, Stash testified.
Stash said their plan was to rob Boote by Reyes knocking on his door and being allowed inside. Mercado was supposed to steal items but rushed upstairs and attacked Boote.
While Mercado was punching and kicking Boote in a bedroom, Reyes retrieved a knife from the kitchen and returned to the bedroom where Mercado took the weapon from her, Stash said.
The hearing continues Friday afternoon.