Police are investigating the death of a baby found in a New Mexico hospital room toilet.
The Hobbs Police Department said in a statement on social media Thursday that officers responded to Covenant Health Hobbs Hospital after a baby was found dead in a patient room bathroom Wednesday.
Police said a 16-year-old female patient – who was accompanied by her mother at the time – was being treated in the room. Hospital staff later discovered the dead baby in the toilet of the patient’s room.
The Hobbs Police Department has not identified any of the people involved and has not said if any arrests have been made. The department said it is investigating the baby’s death and the Medical Examiner’s Office has sent the baby to Albuquerque for an autopsy.
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This week’s death is the second incident in which a child was found dead in a New Mexico hospital this year, according to the Associated Press and KRQE.
In May, 19-year-old Alexee Trevizo was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of her young son in January.
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Police claimed Trevizo went to the emergency room in late January for back pain, but then locked herself in the bathroom where she gave birth to the boy, the AP reported. She then placed the baby in a trash bag, which she then hid in a trash can, per KRQE.
According to reports, a hospital security guard discovered the baby when she went to pick up the trash and realized she was heavier than usual. An autopsy listed the cause of death as a homicide, the AP reported.
However, Treviso’s attorney, Gary C. Mitchell, argued, according to the AP, that there were “inconsistencies” with what happened at the hospital and said the case was not just “classic child abuse.”
According to local news outlet KOAT Action 7 News, Treviso’s attorney filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital in August. KRQE News reported that the lawsuit was filed on behalf of the deceased baby’s estate.
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Another New Mexico teenager, 19-year-old Alexis Avila, was sentenced to 16 years in prison and two years of probation in May after being found guilty of dumping her newborn baby in a dumpster in Hobbs in 2022, according to KRQE. The paper reported that the baby, who survived, now lives with relatives.
Abortion is currently legal in New Mexico, as in 2021 the New Mexico legislature voted to repeal a dormant 1969 statute that criminalized most abortion procedures, ABC News reports.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) also signed two bills that override local regulations to protect abortion providers, per point of sale.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education