Alexis Avila: Teenager pleads not guilty to dumping newborn
Judge allows house arrest for woman seen in video abandoning an infant
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
A woman accused of dumping a baby in a dumpster in New Mexico has pleaded not guilty to charges of child abuse and attempted first-degree murder.
Alexis Avila, 18, appeared in court on Wednesday and entered her plea. She was afterwards released under house arrest while awaiting trial.
The resident of Hobbs, a town roughly 260 miles southwest of Albuquerque, reportedly told investigators that she had abandoned her newborn baby.
She was arrested last week after her car appeared in a surveillance video on 7 January throwing a trash bag into a dumpster outside a shopping mall in Hobbs.
“We just found a baby in the god***n trash,” a member of the public could be heard telling 911 dispatchers on 7 January, in audio obtained by obtained by KQRE.
“He’s whimpering, he was not crying actually. I was looking for some stuff in the dumpster and we heard ... We heard something I didn’t know it was a baby. Thought it was a cat,” the caller added.
Authorities said Ms Avila had not realised she was pregnant until 6 January, when she began to experience pains and birthed the child shortly after.
Search warrants for her car and family home meanwhile resulted in police locating blood evidence, clothing and a towel.
The baby has been put into the hands of the New Mexico Department of Children, Youth and Families, who are caring for the infant.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.