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25-year-old mother accused of killing 6-year-old boy in January 2007.
Teresa Gilman, 25, of Portales will be tried in September for the Jan. 4, 2007 death of her 6-year-old son, Lorenzo "Lanchito" Cabral, the Portales News-Tribune reported. Gilman was sent to the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas for evaluation last year following her arrest and was found competent to stand trial in February, the News-Tribune reported. She was indicted by a Roosevelt County grand jury on Feb. 27 on a charge of child abuse resulting in death after being initially charged with first-degree murder, the paper reported. District Attorney Matt Chandler has said his office was satisfied with the alternative charge returned by the grand jury, the News-Tribune said. "The alternative charge better fits the facts of the case," Chandler said. "They both carry a penalty of life in prison." An autopsy found the preliminary cause of the boy's death was head trauma but did not rule out drowning as a possible cause of death, police have said. Witnesses told police that Gilman allegedly poured water into the boy's mouth after he was unconscious and that she believed she was told by God to flush the devil from the boy, according to an arrest-warrant affidavit. Gilman also faces charges of child abuse related to other children in her home at the time of the boy's death and is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, the News-Tribune reported. Her trial date has been set for Sept. 15-19 in Roosevelt County District Court.
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