The New Mexico hospital where a high school cheerleader secretly gave birth and then discarded her newborn is being sued for wrongful death.
Alexee Trevizo gave birth in a bathroom at Artesia General Hospital on January 27, 2023, about two hours after presenting to the emergency room with back pain.
According to a copy of the arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, the newborn’s body was discovered in the trash a short time later. Trevizo claimed she gave birth during the 17 minutes she was in the bathroom, but the baby was stillborn.
Four months later, Trevizo was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after an autopsy revealed that the child — posthumously named Alex Ray Fierro — was breathing outside the womb.
Trevizo’s attorney is not only defending his client against the charge, but he has also filed a wrongful death complaint in civil court on behalf of the deceased baby’s estate, seeking damages from the hospital, Trevizo’s attending physician Dr. Heather Marshall Vaskas, and emergency room staff members who treated the teenager.
According to a copy of the civil complaint obtained by PEOPLE, Trevizo informed staff that she was not pregnant and was “on her period” when she arrived at the hospital.
According to the complaint, the doctor on duty ordered medications that “have warnings regarding use if the patient is pregnant.”
Meanwhile, a hospital test revealed Trevizo’s pregnancy, but, according to the complaint, Trevizo was unaware of this when she told a nurse she needed to use the bathroom.
The arrest affidavit includes a timeline of that bathroom trip, stating that Trevizo entered the bathroom at 1:39 a.m. and remained there for 18 minutes before leaving when hospital staff threatened to open the door.
As Trevizo returned to her hospital room for an ultrasound, a member of the cleaning crew was called to the bathroom, where they discovered a “large amount of blood,” according to the arrest affidavit.
When the cleaner went to take out the trash, she noticed it was much heavier than usual, and when she looked inside, she discovered a trash bag tied underneath other trash.
According to the affidavit, the housekeeper saw what she thought was a baby and immediately called in two nurses.
According to an amicus brief filed by the state of New Mexico, staff called police, and Dr. Vaskas explained the situation to Trevizo, saying, “We discovered a dead baby in the bathroom.” Trevizo then allegedly stated, “I’m sorry, it came out of me, and I didn’t know what to do.”
The nurse informed Trevizo and her mother that the baby appeared to be full term, according to the amicus brief, prompting Trevizo to allegedly exclaim, “Nothing was crying.”
Trevizo allegedly admitted to placing the newborn in “the trash bag” when questioned by her mother, according to the amicus brief.
Trevizo was allowed to return home and finish her school year until the autopsy report revealed that the child had air in his lungs and a hemorrhage consistent with hypoxia.
The high school senior was arrested on May 10, 2023, and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Trevizo pleaded not guilty to both charges and was released pending trial. She attended her prom but not her high school graduation.
The district attorney’s case is based on Trevizo’s alleged confession as well as surveillance video inside the hospital that shows her entering and exiting the bathroom.
Just before trial, New Mexico’s Fifth Judicial District Court ruled that Trevizo’s alleged confession and all video footage of her inside the hospital were inadmissible due to doctor-patient privilege.
Lawyers for the state challenged that ruling in an amicus brief filed with the New Mexico Supreme Court, which heard arguments in the case last week.
Trevizo’s murder trial is on hold while lawyers for both sides await the Supreme Court’s decision, while the wrongful death suit is scheduled to go to trial sometime next year.
