Megan’s True Crime Corner: Teen Girl Throws Baby in the Trash

There’s a tradition to never say “It’s a quiet night” in a US emergency room because the superstition rules that that shift will turn into one of the busiest shifts ever. On January 26th, 2023 Artesia General Hospital in New Mexico was running a slow night. Everyone on that night shift knew it but didn’t utter a word. Dr. Heather Vasquez was in charge of 19-year-old returning patient Alexee Trevizo, who had come in with her mother, Rosa, for symptoms including an elevated heart rate and back pain. A nurse asked Alexee to rate her back pain on a scale of 1-10. She told the nurse that it was a shocking 10. Ever since December 2022, she had been coming to the hospital with the same symptoms: back pain and a high heart rate. This was her second time at Artesia General Hospital for the same major symptoms. 

This is where Dr. Vasquez comes in. Vasquez is an amazing doctor: not only is she a physician for Artesia, but also the medical director for another hospital. While treating Alexee, it was very difficult to conduct a full examination to diagnose her, as Alexee did not let Dr. Vasquez touch her at all. Dr. Vasquez did notice something odd: how fidgety Alexee was. It was normal to fidget to get into a comfortable position when experiencing pain, but her fidgets looked like nervous fidgets to Dr. Vasquez. She also noticed that the teen was very weary of her touch. Due to her years in the medical field, she thought this would mean that either Alexee was having kidney stones, back pain, or a baby. She asked Alexee multiple times if she was pregnant. Her mom Rosa answered, “No, I have been buying her pads for months.”

Alexee agreed to what her mom had said, but Alexee’s body language whispered something else to Dr. Vasquez. So she told Alexee and her mom that there are certain types of medicine that the girl couldn’t take because it would harm herself, and the baby. Both daughter and mother still denied the pregnancy, and Alexee denied sexual activity. Her suspicion lightened.

At this point, Dr. Vasquez was mainly concerned about Alexee’s back pain. She would order some tests to determine if it was a kidney stone. They would need a CAT scan and following protocol, they would need to order a urine strip pregnancy test. The urine sample would later come out to be positive. The nurses and Dr. Vasquez were baffled because Alexee had told them specifically that she was not pregnant. Dr. Vasquez decided not to tell Alexee about this test result at first, suspecting a false positive, as Alexee claimed that she was not pregnant and didn’t look pregnant at all. Alexee was a short girl and was wearing rather baggy clothes, so it was hard to tell whether or not she was pregnant. Dr. Vasquez had ordered an HCG Blood Pregnancy Test instead due to the belief that the other test was false. Even if Alexee was pregnant, Dr. Vasquez assumed it wouldn’t be full term, and would have been her first trimester. While waiting for the results, a nurse who goes by H.T. comes into the story. 

Chris Sanchez, who was the other nurse attending Alexee, had told H.T. about everything, including the positive pregnancy test and the denial from Alexee and her mother. H.T. suggested that the presence of Alexee’s mother was interfering with her treatment. H.T. said Alexee is a legal adult, which meant she didn’t need a guardian to get treatment. With this being said, Alexee and her mom Rosa had already learned that the urine test came out positive, and both were disappointed. Both of them were also in shock, and Rosa kept on asking Alexee why she hid the pregnancy from her. But neither could have expected what would happen next. 

Dr. Vasquez had prescribed Alexee morphine, Zofran, and sodium chloride. Morphine is used to treat pain, Zofran to ease nausea, and sodium chloride to recharge electrolytes. Later, Alexee was seen running to the bathroom. Others described it as “rushing to poop.” At first, everything seemed normal, until Nurse Chris noticed that Alexee was in the bathroom for quite some time. Chris would hear this unusual pattern in the bathroom: “Flush, pause, paper towel dispenser, paper towel dispenser.”  Chris was getting scared, so he called over another nurse named Lori Vallow, who heard the same thing. The two of them start to get worried, thinking that she was having a miscarriage and flushing everything down the toilets, and now believing the positive pregnancy test. 

They attempted to call out to her. They beckoned her to come out so that they could check if she was alright, both because of the sounds and the extended time she was taking. She told them that she was okay and was just constipated, and it went on. “Toilet dispenser, flush.” This only worried them more, leading to Chris telling Lori to get a master hey from the head nurses area. Chris warned Alexee that they would force their way in if she didn’t open the door. As they were about to use the key, the door switched open, and out came Alexee, looking rather dazed. Lori then left to return the key

Nothing could have prepared Chris for what he was about to see. Alexee moved, revealing a bathroom entirely covered in her blood. Chris asked Alexee what had happened, to which she responded she was just on her period. She explained that she had a very heavy flow. At this point, Dr. Vasquez was at the scene of the bathroom. She knew that this was not blood from a heavy flow. She assumed that Alexee had had a miscarriage. Everyone suddenly saw this case as a 19-year-old girl who was too frightened to face the fact that she was pregnant, and just had a miscarriage. 

Dr. Vasquez began urging Alexee back to the treatment room. There, Dr. Vasquez prepared to perform a vaginal exam as quickly as possible. Another caregiver was in the room assisting Dr. Vasquez, leaving nurses Chris and Lori to clean up. Unable to clean it all alone, they contacted the hospital’s housekeeping team. Lila Lewis was the one informed that there was a cleanup needed in the hallway bathroom. Alexee was given a vaginal examination, resulting in a concerning amount of blood when her mother interrupted her to begin lecturing her on the pregnancy.

Lila was on the scene and Lori briefed her on what they were cleaning up. When they went in to clean up, Lila noticed that the blood thickness was rather similar to that of a miscarriage, and not a period. They later described the toilet as looking like it “Came out from a horror movie” and the smell to be “suffocating.” Another nurse came by to see what was happening but was astonished and reported that something deep inside of her told her to take pictures of the bloody walls, not knowing that later on police would see the photos. At that time, Leela was still cleaning the blood stains, and as she was finishing took out the trash. But she noticed that the trash was heavier than usual. At first, she thought nothing of it and cast it aside. Later, mid \-way through cleaning, she wondered if someone had thrown the whole paper towel roll in the trash. Just to make sure her suspicions were correct, she just went to check inside the trash bag. When she opened the bag, she found herself yelling out for nurses Chris and Lori. They could never have expected what they found: a still baby.

They rushed to get Dr. Vasquez, pulling her straight from the treatment room where Alexee lay. While walking, they updated her about their discovery. When she arrived and opened the bag, she immediately directed the nurses to bring the bag to the trauma room. Despite the plentiful experience of the professionals who constituted the healthcare team, they all remained frozen, unsure of what to do. Nurse H.T. rushed to grab the baby out of the bag, which was suctioned to the face of the baby boy. The plastic covered his nose and mouth, leaving no way for him to breathe. His skin was purple and cold to the touch, and the umbilical cord was still attached, having been ripped apart. “It was horrific,” the healthcare team described. 

The ER had transformed into a crime scene. The baby did not survive and was instead sent in for autopsy. Dr. Vasquez declared the baby’s time of death: January 27, 2023, 2:28 AM. While waiting for the police to arrive, the team tried to preserve the cadaver and any evidence that it displayed. Alexee was instructed not to utter a word without legal representation. The team chose to continue treating the girl despite incrimination.

The cops arrived and launched a full investigation. Nurse H.T., now an official witness of the crime, explained to the cops what had happened from start to end. The cops listened in disbelief, noting everything. Dr. Vasquez approached the officers to ask if they could accompany her while she informed Alexee and her mother about the discovery of the baby. 

Upon hearing the news, Rosa gasped in shock, and Alexee tried to explain herself. She stated that she “Didn’t know what to do, the baby wasn’t crying, and he wasn’t breathing. Rosa scolded her daughter and asked “Why didn’t you tell me? I can’t believe you did this!” Dr. Vasquez stopped her and explained that at that point, the priority was to help Alexee. She recommended transferring Alexee to Lovelace Hospital, where they specialize in Obstetrics, and since Alexee just gave birth, they need to make sure there isn’t any placenta tissue left in the uterus. Because of this and her heavy bleeding, the situation grew more concerning. Dr. Vasquez later informed Alexee that cops were also involved due to her trying to hide the birth and baby. Alexee didn’t cry as Dr. Vasquez apologized that this was happening to them and told them an autopsy would be performed on the baby. 

While filling out the paperwork for the baby, Alexee was asked whether she wanted to include the father to which she responded no. But they did get the baby’s father’s info. Even if she didn’t want to include him, he was needed for the investigation. In the morning, the cops would interview the father of the baby, Devin Fierro, along with his and Alexees’ mother. Devin, eighteen years old, reported that he and Alexee had been dating for two years in high school. During this case, he has kept a low profile. He also denied knowing that Alexee was pregnant. 

The complete autopsy determined that the baby had air in his lungs in his final moments. Alexee Trevizo is now on trial, and her first hearing is approaching on October 2, 2023. 

Cites/Source:

https://katv.com/ 

Stephanie Soo: “Teen Girl Threw Baby in Trash Can After Giving Birth in Hospital Bathroom”

www.dailymail.co.uk