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Lawsuit filed in attack that killed woman's son and unborn child
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jun 18, 2009
A Big Island lawsuit asks for unspecified punitive damages against a Puna man who allegedly used a combat knife to attack his pregnant wife and kill his teenage son.
In a suit filed June 10 in Circuit Court, Cheryl-Lyn Vesperas said she was stabbed multiple times in the abdomen by her estranged husband, Tyrone Vesperas, at their Ainaloa subdivision home.
As a result of the June 2007 attack, her unborn child, which she named Matthew Kaimana Erece-Saniatan, did not survive. According to the complaint, she was three weeks away from her due date when the stabbing occurred.
Vesperas also fatally stabbed their 14-year-old son, Tyran Vesperas-Saniatan, in his neck when he tried to restrain his father, the suit says. The boy died after he described the attack in a call to 911.
The couple was separated at the time of the attack. Cheryl-Lyn Vesperas filed for a divorce on Jan. 15.
Tyrone Vesperas was charged with second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and possession of a deadly weapon. He is being held at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in Hilo pending a criminal trial scheduled to begin March 22.
"What he did was outrageous and unimaginable," said attorney Lionel M. Riley, who is representing Cheryl-Lyn Vesperas.
She suffered permanent disfigurement, shock, scarring and great pain to her body and mind as a result of the stabbing, he said.
She continues to suffer from emotional distress from the loss of Tyran and her unborn child, he said.
"It's very, very raw," said Riley. "She will probably never recover."
She is undergoing psychological counseling and receives support from friends and her 18-year-old daughter.
"She is doing the best she can right now, and she's trying to take it one day at a time," said Riley.
Vesperas, a staff sergeant with the Hawaii Army National Guard, served with the 29th Brigade Combat Team in Iraq from February 2005 to January 2006.
A Big Island lawsuit asks for unspecified punitive damages against a Puna man who allegedly used a combat knife to attack his pregnant wife and kill his teenage son.
In a suit filed June 10 in Circuit Court, Cheryl-Lyn Vesperas said she was stabbed multiple times in the abdomen by her estranged husband, Tyrone Vesperas, at their Ainaloa subdivision home.
As a result of the June 2007 attack, her unborn child, which she named Matthew Kaimana Erece-Saniatan, did not survive. According to the complaint, she was three weeks away from her due date when the stabbing occurred.
Vesperas also fatally stabbed their 14-year-old son, Tyran Vesperas-Saniatan, in his neck when he tried to restrain his father, the suit says. The boy died after he described the attack in a call to 911.
The couple was separated at the time of the attack. Cheryl-Lyn Vesperas filed for a divorce on Jan. 15.
Tyrone Vesperas was charged with second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and possession of a deadly weapon. He is being held at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in Hilo pending a criminal trial scheduled to begin March 22.
"What he did was outrageous and unimaginable," said attorney Lionel M. Riley, who is representing Cheryl-Lyn Vesperas.
She suffered permanent disfigurement, shock, scarring and great pain to her body and mind as a result of the stabbing, he said.
She continues to suffer from emotional distress from the loss of Tyran and her unborn child, he said.
"It's very, very raw," said Riley. "She will probably never recover."
She is undergoing psychological counseling and receives support from friends and her 18-year-old daughter.
"She is doing the best she can right now, and she's trying to take it one day at a time," said Riley.
Vesperas, a staff sergeant with the Hawaii Army National Guard, served with the 29th Brigade Combat Team in Iraq from February 2005 to January 2006.
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