Mom in North Andover tragedy had history of mental health issues

NORTH ANDOVER - A North Andover mother killed her 9-month-old boy before taking her own life, the Essex County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. Both had apparent knife wounds and did not survive.

The mother was identified as Jennifer Paez, age 35, and her little boy as Valentino Paez.

Mental health issues

Court documents obtained by WBZ-TV from Lawrence District Court reveal Paez had a long history of mental health issues.

In 2018, Paez's then-roommate unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a restraining order after she said Paez physically attacked her.

"Our family is now in physical danger," the roommate wrote. "Jennifer has been starting to be more forgetful, she leaves the door open, forgets to lock it when the children are home, and locks herself out of the apartment... in the middle of the night."

In 2022, Paez was involuntarily committed to a mental health facility after police say she stopped traffic on busy South Broadway Street in Lawrence with her car. When they attempted to arrest her, they said she "began to be physically combative and attempted to strike officers by kicking us."

One officer recognized Paez from a prior interaction, and said she had "attempted to take her life before by attempting to jump out of a moving vehicle."

When officers arrested Paez despite her resistance, they said she began "to say many irrational comments about being 'GOD' and speaking in different dialects that did not make sense to officers."

Just one month later, police were called to the home on Turnpike Street for a domestic incident between Paez and her mother. Paez's sister called 911, and when police arrived, Paez was allegedly demanding a DNA test, suddenly believing she was not her mother's biological daughter.

Paez's sister told police Paez "suffers from bipolar disorder and is not taking her medication. She said Paez's behavior has been more erratic and aggressive...and that both [sister] and [mother] are in fear of Paez."

"It's a tragedy"

It's unclear if Paez suffered from known postpartum-related mental health issues. Licensed clinical social worker and perinatal mental health practitioner Amy Colozzo spoke with WBZ about tragedies such as this one.

"When we hear of tragedies that happen, I think it's really easy to put a label on it when we don't know, and that just further stigmatizes people who actually do have postpartum psychosis," she explained.

"Because when we look at the numbers and we look at the research, it's very rare for women to hurt themselves and their babies. It's a tragedy. It's terrible when it happens."

Available resources

A horrific situation like this is a chance to remind people about the resources available for women and families who may be struggling.

"I think whenever there's a tragedy like this, you know, it hits home for every single family," Colozzo said.

"It affects every single person who's out there. And I think, you know, our biggest message - we want people to know is they're not alone. This can be really activating for any of us to hear if we have young children, if we know people who have young children, and so, just making sure that people are reaching out to support whether it's their family, their friends, or reaching out to a provider."

• Maternal Mental Health Hotline 24/7 call or text support: 1-833-852-6262
• National Suicide Hotline: 988
• Postpartum Support International: Branch in MA
  
• For more mental health resources, click here .