Inset: Ashley Rivera (Hidalgo County Jail). Background: The 8100 block of North FM 88 in Weslaco, Texas, where Rivera”s 1-year-old child died after being left unattended in a vehicle (Google Maps).

Ashley Jasmin Rivera, aged 26, is charged with injury to a child resulting in death, according to jail records. A press release from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, shared by local news outlets, stated that deputies responded to an emergency call just before 9 p.m. on October 31. The incident occurred on the 8100 block of North FM 88 in rural Weslaco, Texas, near the Mexican border, where they found an unresponsive infant.

Upon arrival, deputies discovered the 1-year-old was not breathing. The child was swiftly transported by paramedics to a hospital, where the medical team sadly declared the child deceased.

The press release noted, “The car seat was positioned forward behind the driver’s seat, with the strap wrapped around the child’s neck,” highlighting the heartbreaking circumstances of the incident.

“The child’s car seat was found tipped forward behind the driver’s seat, with the car seat strap around the child’s neck,” the release reportedly said.

Rivera reportedly told investigators that she and her four children arrived at the location. The 1-year-old was sleeping so she left the child in the car while Rivera and the other three kids went inside. Roughly 20 or 30 minutes later, a witness said he went to the car and found the child unresponsive.

An autopsy conducted a couple of days later determined the child died of strangulation.

Details such as where the mother and other children were going when she left the 1-year-old behind were not released. Cops say the investigation remains ongoing.

Cops arrested Rivera and took her to the Hidalgo County Jail where she is being held on a $750,000 bond.