Charges: St. Paul mother accused of throwing 11-year-old son over balcony punched, spit on officers

Additional charges are expected Wednesday.

March 11, 2020 at 4:26PM
The suspect lived in Union Flats, a St. Anthony Park apartment complex, with her two children.
The suspect lived in Union Flats, a St. Anthony Park apartment complex, with her two children. (Casey Common — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The St. Paul woman accused of throwing her 11-year-old son over their fourth-floor apartment balcony Monday morning later punched and spat on two police officers booking her into jail, charges say.

Itayvia D. Lloyd, 33, was charged Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court with two counts of assaulting a peace officer. She remains jailed in lieu of $10,000 bail, but she is expected to face additional charges Wednesday.

So far, no motive has been determined for the attack on her son, which authorities say began when she yanked him from bed, dragged him to the balcony and heaved him over the railing.

During an interview with investigators, Lloyd "admitted to doing it, but she did not tell them why," said police spokesman Steve Linders.

A resident at the St. Anthony Park neighborhood apartment complex on Hampden Avenue called 911 around 8:40 a.m. Monday reporting an attempted suicide after witnessing what the resident thought was a child jumping off an upper-floor balcony, Linders said.

Responding officers found the boy, who was conscious and breathing, suffering from traumatic injuries in the building's courtyard. Paramedics took him to Children's Minnesota, but were quickly redirected to Regions Hospital due to the nature of his injuries. The child, who is expected to survive, was treated for at least one broken femur, a fractured jaw and head injuries, Linders said. His current condition is unknown.

A 6-year-old sibling in the home appeared to be physically unharmed.

Lloyd has no criminal record in Minnesota beyond some traffic violations.

According to the criminal complaint:

Upon her arrest, two officers escorted Lloyd to police headquarters for booking. One officer instructed her to place her hands behind her back. As they grabbed her left arm, Lloyd swung her right arm around in attempt to punch the officer in the face, court records show. The officer managed to block the punch and restrain Lloyd with handcuffs.

Once in a holding cell, she became agitated and approached the officer standing watch, then spit in his face.

Itayvia D. Lloyd (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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about the writer

Liz Sawyer

Reporter

Liz Sawyer  covers Minneapolis crime and policing at the Star Tribune. Since joining the newspaper in 2014, she has reported extensively on Minnesota law enforcement, state prisons and the youth justice system. 

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