An 18-year-old mother in New Mexico is being charged with attempted murder and felony child abuse—and was later released on a reported $10,000 bond—after being caught on camera throwing her newborn baby in a dumpster.
Alexis Avila confessed to putting her baby in the trash and leaving after giving birth, per ABC 7, as a woman leaving a white car is shown on surveillance video tossing a black garbage bag in the dumpster around 2 p.m. Friday. Officials said she found out she was pregnant the day before the birth and claimed she “panicked and did not know what to do or who to call.” Hobbs Police Department Acting Chief August Fons revealed Avila wrapped the baby in a towel before leaving it, per the Independent.
The footage shows a group of people dumpster diving around 7:42 p.m., eventually finding the infant, with police arriving moments later.
“Upon arrival officers rendered aid to the new born child and the baby was transported to a local hospital by Hobbs EMS,” HPD shared on Facebook. “The child was subsequently transported to a Lubbock Hospital for further pediatric treatment.”
Assisting with the search was local business owner Joe Imbriale, who caught the footage on a nearby camera, which showed the white vehicle the baby was transported in. Imbriale told ABC 7 about the moment he realized what happened.
“What are, what are we looking for here? I turned around, she goes, ‘We’re looking for somebody that dumped a black garbage bag in the dumpster.’ And I said, ‘Please do not tell me it was a baby,’ and she grabbed my shoulder and said, ‘Yes,’” Imbriale said.
The baby is currently in stable condition at a Texas hospital, per the station, and Imbriale made sure to shout out local law enforcement for insuring the child’s safety. Having been let out on bond after a reported two hours, Avila will be arraigned at Lea County District Court on a later date.
“I got to say thank you to all the law enforcement agencies out there. People don’t know what they go through every single day of their life and they take that home,” Imbriale said.
