O.C. Woman Denies Endangering Son’s Life : Profile: Mother of boy bitten to death by a starving pet rat says she and her husband don’t ‘belong in jail.’

The mother of a baby boy bitten to death last week by a starving pet rat said Thursday that she and her husband tried to give their children a good life, and that they do not belong in jail.

“I am not a monster mother,” said Kathyleen Giguere, 30, sobbing continuously during a 30-minute interview at the Orange County Jail.

Authorities have charged Giguere and husband Steven, 27, with involuntary manslaughter for the death of 4-month-old Steven Giguere Jr., who bled to death the night of Aug. 26. Family, friends and social workers have portrayed the Gigueres as unfit parents who had drug problems and exposed their children to danger by living in a filthy car where the pet rat ran loose.

But in her first public comments, Kathyleen Giguere sought to combat those characterizations, saying that the loss of their son had left her and her husband stunned and grieving. Hers is a story of poverty and struggle, not of neglect and criminal abuse, she insisted.

“Who would kill a 4-month-old?” she asked. “Who would do anything to hurt a baby? I’m a good mother. I never put my kids in any danger. I’m a mother who cares about my children, regardless of what anyone says.”

While Kathyleen Giguere defended the job she did as a mother, acquaintances and even relatives have depicted her and her husband as people who were more interested in buying drugs and alcohol than food for their children.

Orange County social service officials received five separate complaints of neglect against the couple--including one from Steven Giguere’s parents just 48 hours before the death of Steven Giguere Jr. But investigators said they were never able to find enough evidence of an immediate danger to remove the children from the couple’s care.

Kathyleen Giguere said she is aware of the accusations against her but says they are lies aimed at destroying her family. She said her family has lived off welfare at times and was also forced to beg when money ran out. They often purchased alcohol with the money they had, but the children always had food, diapers and other necessities, she said.

The family became homeless after her husband lost his two jobs last year at a mechanic shop and a manufacturing plant, she said. Although they have family and friends in the area, she said her husband’s pride would not allow him to ask for help, especially since so many people had already helped him through other tough times.

As a result, the couple and their two children, Steven Jr. and 3-year-old Karissa, began living in the family’s 1971 station wagon earlier this year--along with Homer the rat, she said.

“It wasn’t the best place for the kids, but it was the best we had,” Kathyleen Giguere said, as she nervously picked at her inch-long, pink manicured nails.

“My husband had too much pride to ask his parents for help. They’ve been so good to us already, he didn’t want to ask for more,” she said. Steven Giguere was constantly looking for work, but jobs are hard to get without a telephone, an address or new clothes, she said.

She insisted that she and her husband should not be in jail, where the bizarre circumstances of their arrest have now become widely known.

Inmates hiss “child killer” at her and she fears for her safety, she said.

“I don’t think people like us belong in jail,” she said.

The pain of losing her son is punishment enough, Kathyleen Giguere said. “I’m never going to hold him, I’m never going to see his giggly smile for his mom.”

She refused to discuss many details of the death itself, saying that she did not want to influence the criminal case pending against her. She would not say, for instance, why the family kept a pet rodent in the car with the children. And she refused to say whether she and her husband were even in the car at the time of the attack.

Authorities say the rat, which weighed about half a pound and measured about 12 inches from nose to tail, turned on the infant as he was sleeping in the back seat. The child was bitten more than 110 times and bled to death when the rat struck an artery.

Tests done on the rat show the rodent was malnourished and starving.

Kathyleen Giguere and her husband face involuntary manslaughter charges because authorities say the couple placed the child in dangerous conditions. If convicted, the Gigueres could each face up to four years in state prison. Steven Giguere refused to be interviewed Thursday.

The shocking tragedy puzzled many people who could not understand why the child’s cries would not have alarmed the parents, who have told police that they awoke to find that the baby was not breathing. Authorities are still trying to determine exactly what the parents were doing during the time of the attack.

On Tuesday, a Juvenile Court judge ordered the couple’s daughter held in a county-run home for abused and neglected children after court documents alleged the couple had abused drugs just hours before the fatal attack. Authorities also claimed that Kathyleen Giguere had used drugs during her pregnancies.

But Kathyleen Giguere denied that she was high on drugs at the time of the attack and refused to discuss her drug history. Results of the couple’s blood tests taken after the arrest are still pending, officials said.

Steven Giguere has been convicted in the past of drunk driving and possession of marijuana, according to court records.

Dianne Giguere, Steven’s mother, said she and her husband have helped the couple in the past but had been reluctant to take the children permanently. She said she wanted the couple to learn to handle their own responsibilities, especially since Kathyleen Giguere already has an 8-year-old daughter in county custody.

The grandmother said the child was taken from Kathyleen Giguere about four years ago after authorities determined she was living a transient lifestyle and was incapable of caring for the girl. Dianne Giguere added that she did not want her son and daughter-in-law to expect her and her husband to be full-time baby-sitters for the couple’s two other children.

“We were always after them to take better care, but we didn’t want them to say, ‘Oh, let’s just leave the kids with grandma,’ ” Dianne Giguere said. “It’s their responsibility. It’s a big responsibility.”

She said she believes the root problem is the longtime drug abuse by both Steven and Kathyleen Giguere. “We feel there is something terribly wrong there, and it has to do with drugs,” she said.

Dianne Giguere said she and her husband worried daily about their grandchildren and warned the young couple about sleeping in a car so often. Now, they are heartbroken over the death of their grandson, she said.

“We told them again and again, ‘You just don’t do that with children,’ ” Dianne Giguere said. When she discovered last month that the family was again living out of the station wagon, she decided to call social services--two days before the infant’s death. Investigators say they were unable to find the couple in order to follow up on the report.

The grandparents said Thursday that they are in the process of taking custody of the baby’s body and are making funeral arrangements for him. They have also set up a trust fund for the child’s burial and for future care of Karissa. Donations may be sent to Home Savings of America, in care of Steven James Giguere Jr., 15128 E. Rosecrans Ave., La Mirada, Calif. 90638.