BELIZE CITY, Fri. Oct. 26, 2018– Felicia Chen, 27, a young woman who was going through a severe depression that allegedly drove her to kill 3 out of her 4 children when she took them out to sea and drowned them at Belizean Beach on the morning of Saturday, April 27, 2013, was released from the Belize Central Prison on September 7, 2018 on parole after serving 5 years of her 8-year prison sentence.
Initially, when Chen was indicted on 3 counts of murder for causing the death of her children, she attempted to plead guilty to murder when the indictment was read to her. Chen had appeared in the Supreme Court of Justice John “Troadio” Gonzalez, on June 20, 2014. Justice Gonzalez explained to her that she needed to retain the services of an attorney and that the court could not accept her guilty of murder plea.
The following month, July 2014, Chen was allowed to plead guilty to three counts of manslaughter for the deaths of her three children — Thomas, 3, Trinaya,1, and Triana Teul,4.
Chen was represented by attorney Leslie Mendez, who, after Chen was sentenced by Justice Gonzalez, said that Chen would have to live the rest of her life in regret for what she had done.
Justice Gonzalez sentenced her to three 8-year sentences, but Chen was not required to serve the 24-year sentence, because the court stipulated that the sentences were to run concurrently. She was therefore only sentenced to serve eight years in prison.
On the morning of the incident, Chen, who was only 22 at the time, would have drowned all four of her children, but the eldest child was able to escape and alert others, to what was happening. Not long after, Chen was prevented from walking out into the sea, presumably to drown her own self.
At her court hearing, Chen said that she had not wished for her children to continue suffering and also, that she was hearing “voices” that told her what to do.
If Chan violates her parole, she will be returned to prison and would have to serve the remainder of her sentence, which should run until July 23, 2022.