HILO, Hawai'i — A Big Island man was charged with attempted first-degree murder yesterday for allegedly stabbing his pregnant wife repeatedly in the abdomen and causing her to lose her unborn child, and for allegedly killing his 14-year-old son by stabbing him in the neck.

If convicted, 38-year-old Tyrone Vesperas faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Police said Vesperas was separated from his wife, Cheryl-Lyn Vesperas, 34, and the couple were in the process of divorcing. On Monday, the couple began to argue at the home on Paradise Drive in 'Ainaloa Estates in Puna. Police said the dispute escalated, and Cheryl-Lyn was stabbed repeatedly in the abdomen.

Police said the couple's 14-year-old son, Tyran Vesperas-Saniatan, tried to restrain his father, which allowed Cheryl-Lyn Vesperas to flee from the home in her car.

"At some point later during this struggle, Tyran received a wound to his neck area" that proved to be fatal because it struck his jugular vein, according to a police account released yesterday on the incident and the autopsy findings.

Tyrone Vesperas also received a stab wound to his leg.

Police said they were called to the home at 11:30 a.m. by someone who reported he had been stabbed, and received a second call from Cheryl-Lyn Vesperas, who told police she had been wounded and had fled the home in her vehicle.

Officers found Tyrone Vesperas in the garage of the house and immediately arrested him.

Tyran's lifeless body was found inside the home, and he was officially pronounced dead at Hilo Medical Center at 5:20 p.m., police said.

Police found Cheryl-Lyn Vesperas parked on the side of Highway 11 on the road from Kea'au to Hilo. Police said she was in the later stages of her pregnancy, and the fetus did not survive the stabbing.

Cheryl-Lyn Vesperas was listed in stable condition at Hilo Medical Center yesterday.

Yesterday, police also charged Tyrone Vesperas with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. If convicted, he faces a mandatory penalty of life in prison with the possibility of parole for each charge.

To convict Vesperas of the more serious charge of attempted first-degree murder, prosecutors must prove he intentionally or knowingly attempted to cause the death of more than one person.

Vesperas has no previous criminal record, but a neighbor near the house said the couple argued at times. Tyrone Vesperas had been living at the house by himself in recent months, and Cheryl-Lyn Vesperas would bring Tyran to the home to visit his father on the weekends.

Tyrone Vesperas is a full-time member of the Hawai'i Army National Guard who deployed to Iraq with the 29th Brigade Combat team from February 2005 through January 2006. He is a staff sergeant, and worked in the G-4 logistics area.

Police said under Hawai'i law they cannot charge Vesperas with murder in the death of the unborn child even if the evidence shows Vesperas was responsible.

That prompted state Sen. Fred Hemmings to renew his call for a change in state law to protect fetuses in the womb by creating new offenses that include murder of an unborn child and manslaughter of an unborn child.

A bill to accomplish that was introduced by Hemmings and three other Senate Republicans in 2006 but was never given a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Hemmings said the proposed new law would not apply to legal abortions and said he believes 30 other states have passed similar laws.

"It is absolutely barbaric that in Hawai'i a much-loved and anticipated baby can be killed while still in a mother's womb, as what happened on the Big Island," Hemmings said in a statement released yesterday. "For the murderer to not be held responsible nor charged for the death of the baby is outrageous."

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.