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Authorities in New Mexico have charged a woman with the tragic death of her newborn, following allegations that she gave birth in a portable toilet and subsequently drowned the infant. The unsettling incident unfolded when the woman, identified as 38-year-old Sonia Cristal Jimenez, appeared at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces on the night of February 7.
Hospital staff were alarmed when Jimenez arrived around 10:30 p.m. exhibiting signs of recent childbirth, yet she was not accompanied by a baby. This led the medical team to alert local law enforcement due to the concerning nature of the situation, according to a press release from Las Cruces Police.
Further investigation revealed that Jimenez and her boyfriend had been at Burn Lake, a location roughly six miles from the hospital. It was reported that she had used a portable toilet there, which is where the horrific event allegedly took place.
The chilling details of the case have shocked the community, and Jimenez now faces serious charges, with local authorities continuing to delve into the circumstances surrounding this tragic loss of life.
Sonia Cristal Jimenez, 38, is accused of drowning her newborn in a portable toilet. (Las Cruces Police)
Officers rushed to the deserted area and discovered the infant girl dead in the portable toilet’s holding tank.
Investigators suspect that Jimenez gave birth, cut the umbilical cord and left the child in the holding tank, where she drowned.
The woman’s boyfriend said they had been at Burn Lake and that his girlfriend had used a portable toilet. (Las Cruces Police)
An autopsy showed the baby inhaled and swallowed the sanitation liquid used in the portable toilet, according to investigators. The blue chemical was found in the baby’s trachea, lungs and stomach, which investigators said confirms that she breathed and swallowed the liquid while she was still alive.
Jimenez was arrested on Wednesday and charged with intentional child abuse resulting in death, a first-degree felony. She was booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center and is being held without bond.
Police found the infant girl dead in the portable toilet’s holding tank. (iStock)
Police said they do not expect to charge her boyfriend, as they do not believe he was aware she had given birth.
“This is one of the most heartbreaking and disturbing cases I have encountered in my career,” Las Cruces police Chief Jeremy Story told the Santa Fe New Mexican.