Merrimack Mom's Negligent Homicide Trial Delayed

A Merrimack mother accused of negligent homicide in the death of her 8-month-old son will not have her day in court for another three to six months after her trial was pushed back again, according to a story Tuesday's Nashua Telegraph.

Melissa Gutierrez of Merrimack, was due to stand trial in the drowning death of her son Christian Ntapalis in early February, but a suppression hearing that has been delayed  since last year was pushed back once again awaiting a doctor's report regarding the young mother's mental state when she made statements to police at the hospital in Aug. 2011.

Gutierrez's case has been pushed to April, according to the Telegraph, but could be pushed off even longer due to judges scheduling conflicts.

Gutierrez is awaiting trial at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections after being arrested multiple times while out on bail for this case. She was arrested last April for allegedly shoplifting at Lord and Taylor in the Rockingham Park Mall in Salem. Judge Diane Nicolosi said during a bail hearing following that incident that she was giving Gutierrez one last chance, putting her on house arrest, allowing her to leave home for therapy and supervised visits with another of her children.

Gutierrez, however, was arrested again, twice in a week in Manchester for driving without a license and shoplifting from a Manchester pharmacy. She was sent back to jail to await trial following those September arrests.

Gutierrez was indicted in October 2011 on charges of negligent homicide, manslaughter and two counts of reckless conduct for allegedly leaving Christian and a 1-year-old sibling unattended in a bathtub for an extended period of time on Aug. 25. She found her son unresponsive in the tub and called 911. Paramedics attempted to revive the unresponsive baby but he was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.