Young Latina who threw her baby into a dumpster says she found out she was pregnant the day before giving birth

By Marlene Lenthang -

The 18-year-old mother who threw her newborn baby into a garbage container in New Mexico last week said she did not know she was pregnant until the day before giving birth, local police reported Monday. 

Alexis Ávila was arrested after confessing that she had disposed of her baby on Friday in the city of Hobbs, on the border with Texas.

She has been charged with attempted murder and child abuse.

Ávila was tracked down thanks to security images from a nearby store, which captured her approaching the garbage container in a white vehicle, throwing a black plastic bag into it and driving away, authorities explained.

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She was unaware she was pregnant, she told detectives, until Jan. 6, when she sought medical attention for abdominal pain and constipation, according to Acting Hobbs Police Chief August Fons.

The next day she said her stomach hurt and then she gave birth.

Ávila identified who he believed to be the father and claimed to have ended the relationship with him in August 2021, according to police.

The authorities were trying to contact him.

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"He panicked, he didn't know what to do or who to call," Fons said, according to the young woman's account.

Avila cut the umbilical cord, wrapped the baby in a towel, put the child in a white plastic garbage bag, placed it inside another larger black garbage bag, and drove until she decided to dump the newborn in a green container.

Authorities estimate that the baby was there for six hours, until three people searching for valuables heard him cry.

When they found him, they called the police.

Fons said that the boy is currently stable in a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, and is under the care of the New Mexico Department of Children, Youth and Families.

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Ávila's parents reiterated to the police that they were unaware that their daughter was pregnant and that they only knew that she suffered from some stomach problems.

After obtaining warrants to search the vehicle Avila was driving and his home, authorities seized evidence such as blood samples, clothing and a towel.

Ávila was arrested and put in jail on Saturday, although she was released that same night after posting a $ 10,000 bond, the police officer explained.

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Fons recalled that both the Police Department and the city fire department are officially designated places where anyone can leave a baby without being subjected to criminal proceedings for abandonment if the newborn is less than 90 days old.

The young woman will appear before a judge again on Wednesday.