Alexis Avila (Hobbs Police Department)
A 19-year-old mother in New Mexico will spend more than a decade behind bars for stuffing her newborn baby in a plastic bag full of trash and throwing him in a dumpster behind a mall at the start of Last year. On Friday, a Lea County jury found Alexis Avila guilty of one count of attempted first-degree murder and one count of intentional child abuse causing grievous bodily harm, authorities said.
“We are grateful that this jury honored the precious life of this little boy and rejected the defendant’s selfish apology for this crime,” Lea County District Attorney Dianna Luce said in a statement after the verdict. “This verdict proves that children are entitled to the full protection of the law and that wrongdoers who harm children in New Mexico will be vigorously prosecuted.”
On January 7, 2022, Hobbs Police Department officers and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to a 911 call regarding the discovery of a baby in a dumpster located in the 1400 block of N. Thorp behind a Rig Outfitters and Home Store near the state. eastern border with Texas. Arriving at the scene around 8 p.m., first responders found two men standing by the dumpster and a woman sitting inside a vehicle holding the baby, the acting Hobbs police chief said. , August Fons, at a press conference after the discovery.
Authorities said the baby was wrapped in a dirty, wet bath towel with dried blood on it and the umbilical cord still attached. EMS provided assistance before transporting the child to the local hospital for treatment. Shortly after arriving at the facility, the newborn was airlifted to Lubbock Hospital in Texas for more specialized pediatric treatment.
The three people who found the baby told investigators they were looking for “something of value” that could have been thrown away when they heard crying coming from a black bin bag. Thinking it was a dog or a cat, they removed the bag to discover the newborn. The woman then took the baby into the car and held him to keep him warm while one of the men called for help.
Investigators then obtained CCTV footage from the owner of Rig Outfitters, which showed a white four-door Volkswagen Jetta driving into the nearly empty parking lot and stopping in front of a line of three large green dumpsters around 2 p.m. side door and opens the rear passenger door. She then grabs a black bag from the backseat and throws it into the rightmost open dumpster before getting back into the vehicle and driving off. The entire incident took less than 30 seconds, but based on the footage, Fons said the baby was in the dumpster for around six hours.
“This video said it all,” Luce said Friday, according to a report by Albuquerque CBS and Fox affiliate KRQE. “It clearly captured his actions, his expressions and it’s still hard for people to watch this video when you think about the fact that baby was inside that bag.”
Avila is due to appear before Circuit Court Judge William GW Shoobridge on May 1 for his sentencing hearing, according to court records.
Do you have a tip we should know? [email protected]