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Mother Stabs Son, Police Say

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By MIKE WELLS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 23, 2008

Without giving any warning, a Dunedin woman pulled two long knives from her purse Saturday and began stabbing her 15-year-old son during a court-ordered visit at a Largo psychiatry office, police said.

Celeste Grace Minardi

The boy, whose name was not released, was in critical condition at St. Petersburg's Bayfront Medical Center after emergency surgery, Largo police Sgt. Mark Young said. The family asked that his condition not be released, the hospital said.

The attack happened at 10 a.m. at the offices of Ronald L Knaus & Associates at 1301 Seminole Blvd., Suite 112, police said.

Celeste Grace Minardi, 55, of 1202 Fairway Drive, had been visiting her son at the office about twice a month for the past three years, Young said. The teen's father has custody.

Minardi is the ex-wife of Timothy Driscoll, 47, a bankruptcy lawyer in St. Petersburg. Court records show they filed for divorce in 2004 and had one child together.

Minardi has no criminal record and has never shown any violent behavior, Young said.

This visit did not appear to be different, he said. The mother and son were sitting on a couch. A nurse was about six feet away.

Minardi usually brought small gifts for the teen, Young said. She took two gifts out of her purse, cologne and then a deck of cards, he said. "Then she pulled out two knives and started hacking away at her son," Young said.

One blade was a 15 1/2 -inch decorative dagger and the other was a 12-inch drywall knife, he said.

Young said Minardi stabbed the boy in his lower abdomen, leaving a 4-inch gash, and twice on his neck, leaving an 8-inch and a 3-inch gash. He also suffered a 4-inch gash above his right eye.

The teen jumped up and tried to run away but collapsed in the lobby, Young said. A doctor ordered Minardi to drop the knives, pulled her from the scene and secured the knives, the sergeant said.

Young said that when police arrived, the teen was covered in blood and slipping in and out of consciousness.

"He told me, 'My mom stabbed me,'" Young said. "Then he looks up at me and said, 'I don't ever want to see her again,' and then he passed out."

Minardi would not say why she attacked the boy and would only answer yes or no when asked whether she understood her rights as she was being arrested, Young said.

She was charged with first-degree attempted murder and booked into Pinellas County Jail shortly before noon, jail records show. Two additional charges of carrying a concealed weapon were pending, Young said.

Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at mwells@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7839.

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