Phoenix woman advocates for mental health help after son allegedly stabs father

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Lorena Garcia lost her husband, Arturo, on Tuesday in north Phoenix. Court documents report their son, 22-year-old Ulises Alexander Garcia-Garcia, stabbed Arturo at least 10 times. Police arrested Ulises and charged him with first-degree murder.

Lorena reminisced about her late husband and grieves for her son. “He [Arturo] was very funny. I miss him. Wednesday, I called him, thinking he hadn’t died. I thought he was still here, but he’s gone,” she said. “I feel sad. I lost my partner of 27 years, and I’m also sad because I lost my son. Even though he’s there, I won’t be able to see him again. I’m very sad because despite what happened, he was my son.”

Court paperwork states Ulises was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 14 and had been acting aggressively after going off his medication. His family petitioned him to go to an urgent psychiatric facility nearly two months ago, but he was released after four days.

Police say a man stabbed his father to death during an argument and his mother feared something like this would happen.

Lorena said ever since he turned 18, she felt legally in the dark when it came to knowing about his condition. “When they become adults, we no longer have the right to have them know their health records or go to the doctor and make sure they’re taking their medications,” she explained.

Social worker Michael Klinker suggested parents with adult children refusing to get help instead seek a therapist themselves. “They can go to therapy and meet with a professional to help navigate what that kid is going through. Those parents might need extra skills. There’s pointers to do things differently; there’s a lot of different help that a parent can be getting separate from what their kid is getting,” he explained.

The family has set up a GoFundMe for Arturo. If you would like to donate, click here.

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