Lawyer for Teen Accused of Throwing Newborn in Trash Speaks

A New Mexico teenager accused of murdering her baby by stuffing him in a hospital trash can didn’t know she was pregnant, according to her attorney.

“Not a single one of them told her that she was pregnant,” Gary Mitchell told Law&Crime Network. 

Body camera video of the January 27  incident has gone viral, showing police and doctors speaking with 19-year-old Alexee Trevizo after the baby was found in a trash can.

“Nothing was crying. It came out with nothing,” Trevizo can be heard saying in the recording. 

At the time, Trevizo was admitted to an Artesia, New Mexico hospital for back pain. 

“She went to the hospital thinking that she was suffering from low back pain and severe abdominal pain,” Mitchell explained. “[She] indicated on a scale of one to 10 that she was at a 10.”

After cleaning a bloody bathroom Trevizo had just used, a hospital staff member found the baby inside a trash bag. 

“She put the baby in the trash can and put another clean liner over the top of it,” a hospital staff member told police on the body camera recording. “She killed the kid.”

Not allowed to attend graduation ceremony

The newborn baby died, and Trevizo was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence on May 10. She was released on $100,000 bond May 16 ahead of her high school graduation next week. 

“They’re not going to allow her to go to her graduation because of the controversy in the community. And they just don’t want to have any chaos. She’s agreeable to that,” Mitchell said of Trevizo’s graduation. 

Law&Crime Network reached out to Artesia High School for a comment. Superintendent Thad Phipps replied via email, “I am unable to make a comment on personal student matters.”

“There was not an order or command from the school, as far as we know. They just asked that she not be there so as not to generate any issues whatsoever. And so she agreed to that,” Mitchell said. 

According to Mitchell, Trevizo went back to school after giving birth in January, but following her arrest, only returned to take a final exam. He said she has a 3.86 GPA and is already committed to attend New Mexico State University. 

“She has absolutely no criminal record, not even a moving traffic stop. That’s no juvenile record, no suspension from school ever, no infraction at school,” he said. “[She was] a member of the cheer team since she was a freshman in high school, member of the choir. Just an all around top notch student and person.”

‘She is shocked’

When Trevizo was admitted to Artesia General Hospital on January 27, Mitchell said she did not expect to give birth. 

“She is shocked whenever she delivers a baby,” Mitchell told Law&Crime Network. “I already have a real good idea of what caused the baby’s death. It had nothing to do with my client. She was not at fault.”

Before she was admitted to the hospital, Trevizo spent four hours working out with her cheerleading team and was dehydrated. Mitchell said she did not realize she was pregnant. 

“There’s no question that she thought she had been protected. There’s no question that she had used birth control,” Mitchell said. “Obviously it didn’t work.”

‘Nurses and doctors failed her’

According to Mitchell, Trevizo was loaded with medication, including zofran, sodium chloride and morphine after arriving at the hospital. 

“They gave her major medication. Some of that medication is certainly dangerous to an unborn child or fetus,” Mitchell said. “That medication was started without finding out whether or not she was pregnant.”

Trevizo was not told she was pregnant before going to the bathroom, according to Mitchell. He said she gave birth alone and without assistance. 

“This is a situation in which the hospital failed her. The nurses and doctors failed her. The medical investigators failed her,” he said. 

As Law&Crime Network previously reported, an autopsy conducted by the Office of the Medical Investigator showed the baby’s death was not consistent with a stillbirth, finding he had air in his lungs.

“I’m obviously going to have another expert look at that. I don’t know if that’s true or not, because I don’t have much confidence in OMI,” Mitchell said. 

‘She still tried to do the right thing’

When asked why Trevizo put her baby in a trash bag, Mitchell said she believed the baby was dead. 

“She still tried to do the right thing by her baby, I’ll tell you that much. And that baby wasn’t put in the trash right away,” he said. 

Mitchell told Law&Crime Network the hospital illegally released parts of Trevizo’s medical records, which could be considered malpractice. 

“I’m absolutely convinced that not only will we be able to show that she’s totally innocent, but we’ll be able to show what some people might call malpractice that took place,” he said.

Law&Crime Network reached out to Artesia General Hospital for a comment about the allegations, but have not received a reply.

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