Security camera footage shows teen mom putting baby in trash can
The newborn was treated in a clinic after being rescued
Alexis Ávila is a teenager from New Mexico who is blamed for throwing her baby into a garbage container. Police say the young woman was captured and faces charges of attempted murder and child abuse.
The agents distinguished Ávila, thanks to a security camera recording of a store near the place where he abandoned his first-born son.
Alexis Confession
The Hobbs Police Department said Avila confessed to having conceived the baby and subsequently throwing it away. The young woman said she gave birth elsewhere and subsequently drove to the parking lot to get rid of the baby.
Police were tasked with treating the boy at the scene and taking him to Lubbock Hospital for further treatment.
Police said that, as of January 9, the boy was stable. They gave no further information regarding explicit injuries. They also did not give statements on how long the child will remain in the clinic, or who could take care of the baby upon discharge.
Alexis assured investigators that she had no knowledge of the pregnancy. He found out when he went to the doctor to order medicine for persistent abdominal pain.
He also added that the relationship with the boy's father, who is a minor, had ended in August last year.
6 hours of abandonment
The garbage container is located behind a Rig Outfitters store, which had security cameras. Joe Imbriale, owner of the store, provided the police with the security video and was responsible for sharing it on the web. In this video the image of the child does not appear explicitly.
The main video is 2:00 pm local time. The police can observe that a white car approaches the garbage dump and from this, a woman comes out, the one who at the moment is suspected to be Ávila. As he gets out of the car, he takes a black bag out of the back seat and discards it in the garbage container that was uncovered.
From the recording, it is difficult to see what Ávila was thrown into the garbage container. However, according to statements by the person involved, the newborn was in said bag.
Due to the time stamps in the security video, the police realize that the boy was at the scene for approximately six hours.
Strangers got the baby
Additional footage, shared with KOB-TV and KOAT-TV, shows three individuals, who are called “garbage divers,” looking for valuables in the garbage container, and it was they who rescued the minor.
In their daily search, they heard some groans, while searching stealthily, they found a baby wrapped in a bloody towel, inside a garbage bag.
August Fons, the Hobbs Police Chief, said the boy had a dirty, wet towel. He even still had the umbilical cord. Likewise, Imbriale stated that, fortunately, those people decided to check the garbage dump that night.
KOB-TV reported that these people searched the garbage dump at 7:42 pm, for this reason, at that time the child was found. A woman was recorded watching the boy while one of the men called 911.
They got into a truck and pulled the vehicle closer to the road. The emergency body arrived at the scene 8 minutes later.
GoFundMe for the child
Imbriale was commissioned to open a GoFundMe page to help the boy. On this page you can see that your goal is to show the baby that the community will take care of it.
Imbriale told KOB-TV that he did not know what was happening until an official asked for information about obtaining a recording from his security camera.
He automatically asked “what are we looking for?”, To which they responded“we are looking for someone who threw a black garbage bag in your garbage can”. He assured that, at that moment, I wish they did not tell him it was a baby.
Laws in New Mexico
Police said Avila's case is being heard in Lea County District Court, he said. She is charged with child abuse and attempted murder. Both are crimes of the first degree.
Ávila would not be under guardianship as of January 10. He was not on a Lea County detainee list and his name does not appear on Vinelink.
New Mexico has established refugee laws. The legal code indicates that Ávila could have taken the baby in a hospital. Currently, Alexis posted bail and was released.