LEWISTON – If Richard Lessard had listened to his mother, he might be alive today.

The 52-year-old was stabbed to death Friday in what appears to be battle over a drug debt.

But according to Charlotte Lessard, her son was doomed to his fate because he drank hard and refused to get over a tumultuous relationship with his wife, Pauline.

“He should not have been there. I talked to him and I told him, ‘Rick, go home.’ Every time he was with her, it was trouble.”

Charlotte Lessard, 82, dabbed her eyes with tissues several times as she talked about her son’s life and troubles. He drank too much, she said. He became obnoxious and loud. He would not stay away from Pauline no matter how many times he was warned.

“When he drank, that was his other personality and that’s the way he was that night,” Charlotte said. “I knew something bad was going to happen to him. We all knew. We told him, ‘if you don’t keep away from her…’ It was a very volatile situation.”

Police said 18-year-old Sergio Hairston stabbed Richard Lessard to death early Friday at 186 Bartlett St. They say it happened because Richard’s son, Dustin, owed another man $250.

Police suspect the debt may have involved drugs. It’s all very confusing for Charlotte Lessard.

“My son never did drugs. He just drank beer,” she said Monday. “Something happened in that house. I don’t know what. The last words he heard from me were ‘Rick, I love you.'”

Charlotte said she first heard the news from Pauline, Richard’s wife, who called her on the phone.

“She said, ‘mom, Ricky’s dead. Somebody came and tried to stab me. Rick jumped in to save me,'” Charlotte said. “I don’t know if I believe that.”

Police said Richard Lessard had a long history of drunkenness and violence. His criminal record backs that up. But according to his mother, news reports have been overstated.

“He was not really that bad. When he wasn’t drinking, he was a kind, loving man,” she said. “When he drank, he was totally another person. He got obnoxious. I don’t ever remember him getting violent. Somebody has to fight for his name. There are always two sides to the story.”

Pauline Lessard did not return phone messages Monday night. Charlotte said she has not talked to her since the night of the killing.

“I lost five brothers, one after the other,” she said. “It’s different when it’s one of your children. It’s very hard.”

Charlotte’s 89-year-old husband is in a military hospital. She lives in an apartment on Sabattus Street. She has pictures of her children hanging everywhere.

“I had five children,” she said. “Now I only have three. My heart is … I try not to think about it too much. But how can you not?”

Ironically, Charlotte lives in the same building as the parents of Sergio Hairston, the man accused of killing her son.

“It’s a coincidence,” she said, “just a coincidence.”

On Monday, Charlotte Lessard was sad.

And confused, though not surprised, exactly, because she always suspected her son’s life would end in violence.

She was convinced of one thing, though:

“If he had gone home, like I told him to, he’d still be alive. He’d still be here with me.”