MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – The Washington State Court of Appeals has overturned a Mount Vernon woman’s conviction for trying to get her young son to kill his father, her husband, with rat poison.
The Seattle Times reports the court overturned Vanessa Valdiglesias LaValle’s conviction and 15-year prison sentence on Monday, October 10th.
She was found guilty in 2021 for trying to persuade her 10-year-old son to kill his father with rat poison, saying then she, her son and a sibling could live together forever.
The three judges ruled Valdiglesias LaValle’s desire to be with her children does not equate to a “thing of value” necessary to support a criminal solicitation conviction.
The boy had testified in her trial that she never offered him anything other than being together for killing his father.
Her case will be sent back to trial court.