Woman Charged In Lowell Mother's Death Pleads Not Guilty
LOWELL (CBS) -- A Worcester woman was ordered held on $30,000 bail in connection with the death of a Lowell mother who was assaulted Saturday night.
Amirilies Huertas-Perez, 23, was arraigned in Lowell District Court later Tuesday. She is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury.
The Middlesex District Attorney's office said Huertas-Perez assaulted Gloribel Orengo, 44, after a party around 11 p.m. on Pawtucket Boulevard.
Police found Orengo badly injured, and family members said she was jumped, beaten, and may have been stabbed with a Hennessy bottle. She was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Family members said Orengo was with her special needs son when she was beaten by a pack of people.
More: Family Members Want Answers In Apparent Lowell Homicide
In court on Tuesday, prosecutors said Huertas-Perez fled after the assault in a car driven by another man. Orengo may have been run over by the car.
Huertas-Perez's defense attorney said this was a group fight and there is no evidence Huertas-Perez caused Orengo's death.
"There is absolutely no showing that the assault with the bottle caused in any way a fatal injury leading to the death of this individual," said defense attorney James Krasnoo.
Police said they believe Orengo and several other people were asked to leave the house party, and then were involved in a fight in a nearby parking lot with several people.
"There was arms, fists, everything was going and I just saw a woman loop around and hit the ground, and hearing another voice calling out his mother's name, that he loved her," one witness, who asked to remain anonymous, told WBZ-TV.
Residents said the complex where the assault happened is prone to trouble.
Luis Barreto, Orengo's son, said it was difficult to hear the details of his mother's death in court.
"I want justice. I want all of them, the boys, the girls, the rest, whatever. I want all of them arrested," he said.
Huertas-Perez pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $30,000 cash bail. She is next scheduled to appear at a probable cause hearing on December 19.