High School Cheerleader Accused of Dumping Newborn’s Body

A high school cheerleader charged with first-degree murder after allegedly admitting to placing a newborn’s body in a hospital trash can may avoid any criminal charges.

On January 27, 2023, Alexee Trevizo arrived at Artesia General Hospital complaining of severe back pain. After initial tests and receiving morphine, she left her room to use the bathroom. Upon returning, she remained silent.

Later, a hospital cleaning worker noticed a heavy bin bag in the bathroom, looked inside, and found the body of a newborn. Police were notified and arrived in time for an officer to record a conversation between Trevizo, her mother, the charge nurse, and a doctor using a body camera.

According to the state’s brief, Dr. Heather Vaskas told Trevizo, “We discovered a dead baby in the bathroom.” Trevizo allegedly responded, “I’m sorry, it came out of me, I didn’t know what to do.”

After hearing this, Trevizo’s mother asked about the baby’s size, and the charge nurse said it appeared full term. Trevizo reportedly said, “Nothing was crying.”

Her mother then questioned where the baby was placed, and Trevizo confirmed it had been put in a bin bag. Trevizo claims the baby was stillborn. After treatment, she was allowed to return home and continue school until the autopsy revealed the child had air in its lungs and signs of haemorrhaging consistent with hypoxia, contradicting Trevizo’s claim that the baby wasn’t breathing.

She was arrested on May 10, 2023, and charged with first-degree murder. Though prosecutors opposed her release before trial, the judge permitted it. Trevizo attended prom and planned to graduate high school but was ultimately barred from the ceremony by her school.

She was also allowed to attend college, where some students petitioned to ban her from campus.

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Charges against Trevizo were brought and hospital security footage showing her entering and leaving the bathroom where the newborn was found. However, all this alleged evidence is now inadmissible.

In 2024, the New Mexico Fifth Judicial District Court ruled that Trevizo’s statements made while in her hospital bed, along with surveillance footage of her inside the hospital, and police body camera recordings are inadmissible in court due to doctor-patient privilege protections.

This ruling severely weakened the prosecution’s case. In response, the state filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, arguing that conversations Trevizo had in her hospital room with her mother and medical staff, while law enforcement was present, should be allowed as evidence.

The defence successfully argued that Trevizo had not been read her Miranda rights prior to those conversations. However, Assistant Solicitor General Michael Thomas contended on September 4 that Miranda rights were unnecessary because Trevizo was not being questioned by police at the time.

The state also argued that Trevizo “waived any privilege” by speaking in the presence of her mother and law enforcement officers.

Additionally, the defence convinced the district court that Trevizo’s rights were violated when police officers wearing body cameras entered her medical treatment room.

The state’s brief countered that Trevizo “was not under arrest or restraint” during the conversation and that the interaction did not amount to a police interrogation. Thomas emphasised that she was free to leave the room, although one justice questioned whether she would have realized that given the number of officers present, including armed guards stationed outside her hospital door.

Currently, the only admissible evidence from the hospital is initial reports made by staff about the potential crime. However, the Supreme Court’s forthcoming ruling could change this.

Trevizo’s lawyer warned that overturning the district court’s decision could have broad consequences, potentially infringing on the privacy rights of all patients receiving medical care in the state.

The state also sought to overturn the exclusion of the security camera footage, arguing the hallway footage was from a public hospital area without patient-physician privilege.

Trevizo’s attorney has maintained her innocence, stating she was unaware of her pregnancy until delivering the baby in the hospital toilet.