Suspect's parents thought of therapy

In the days after their son was charged with slitting a classmate's throat, the parents of Michael Hernandez told prosecutors the boy had developed worrisome behaviors that caused them to consider taking him to a therapist.

Court documents released Wednesday suggest Manny and Kathy Hernandez had noticed a change in their son beginning last summer and accelerating through December. The statements seem to portray a different picture of the 14-year-old than his parents have painted in interviews this week.

Both parents told The Herald during an hourlong interview Tuesday that aside from typical teenage withdrawal and craving for privacy, they saw no signs of odd behavior from Michael.

But in February, just days after Michael's classmate Jaime Gough, 14, had been fatally stabbed in a bathroom at Southwood Middle School, the Hernandezes told investigators they had become worried about odd quirks that were becoming pronounced in Michael.

The statements were among 400 pages of testimony that included the first statement from Michael's older sister Christina, who had been named on a hit list. Christina Hernandez, 19, told prosecutors she didn't notice anything unusual about her brother during the time she was home from school.

But that differs from statements made by her parents.

The boy's exercise regimen had become extreme, his mother said. It had become one of the only things he did after school.

''Nothing could come between him and that exercising, you know,'' Kathy Hernandez told investigators Feb. 8.

She and her husband told investigators they noted other behaviors that struck them as ''obsessive compulsive'' and ``repetitive.''

His mother noticed that Michael would stand at the refrigerator, both doors open, at the same time each day, and ``look side to side so many times.''

She believed he was counting the items on the shelves, she said. She talked to him about it.

'I just said `Michael, you need to stop these behaviors. This is not right,' '' she told investigators.

She noticed other things: ``We have a grandfather clock, he would go and stand in front of that for so long. . . . He had something with the garage door where it had to open and close so many times.''

She said he would do all these things at the same time each day, after dinner.

``This was getting to be an every day occurence.''

His father noticed odd behaviors, too. He described a routine Michael had for eating Jell-O each day:

''He would sit after school, I guess around 4 p.m. Whenever he decided it was Jell-O time,'' Manny Hernandez told prosecutors. ``I would notice that the bowl was completely clean. I mean, there was no trace at all that Jell-O had been in that bowl.''

Kathy Hernandez talked to the boy about seeing a therapist, but she said he wasn't willing to go. She said she and her husband thought about going without him to ask whether they should worry.

'And so then you talk to other people again and they say `Well, my child got so much worse,' this, that, the other.''

So, she said, they never talked to anyone.

The Hernandez's family attorney, Robert Klein, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Michael's defense attorney, Richard Rosenbaum, said he just received copies of the parents' statement, which he asked for during a hearing earlier in the week.

''I'm reviewing them now,'' he said. ``I believe the statements support the defense position that will be advanced in the future.''

Rosenbaum hasn't said he'll use an insanity defense, but that's widely expected.

Michael Hernandez is being tried as an adult on a first-degree murder charge; he has pleaded not guilty.

Christina Hernandez told prosecutors in a March 12 statement that she believed a typical fight between siblings likely landed her atop the list.

''I guess just because we had one of those fights . . . one of those who is going to sit there, watch TV at that specific time . . . I don't feel like it was any real hatred,'' the college student told prosecutors.

Investigators asked about the relationship between the two.

Typical, she described it, adding ``usually I was the dominant one when it came to fights just because I was older.''

She said she and her brother argued about ''stupid stuff:'' Over the television; who would sit in the front seat and control the radio; over who would be able to go online.

Breaking down several times, Christina Hernandez said her brother was not violent and she loved him, but she has not visited him in jail.

''Do you want to see him?'' she was asked.

''I do, but I am not sure I'm ready,'' she said, adding: ``I just don't want to go there and cry.''