A 17-year-old Texas girl is accused of stabbing her minutes-old child to death before wrapping her body in a bathrobe and dumping her in a neighbor’s storage shed.
Erica Gomez, of El Paso, was arrested Friday and charged with capital murder. According to KFOX, court documents state that Gomez had given birth February 9 in the bathroom of her home. Afterward, Gomez allegedly took her daughter’s body to a shed located about 30 yards away.
Gomez went to sleep after allegedly discarding the newborn’s body. Several hours later, the teen’s mother noticed that Gomez was bleeding and took her to a hospital. It was there that medical staff determined that Gomez had suffered a miscarriage, court documents said.
Investigators said the baby girl’s body was discovered 12 hours later with stab wounds to her torso and neck. KVIA reported that the homeowner’s 13-year-old son made the grisly discovery; the homeowner allegedly took the baby girl’s body into their home before calling police.
“I saw her a couple times at the bus stop and stuff, but no, she never looked pregnant,” the neighbor told the news station.
Documents obtained by KVIA revealed that the newborn had nine stab wounds. Her cause of death was ruled to be homicidal violence.
The teen had reportedly admitted to giving birth to the child in a bathroom and cutting the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors. She allegedly claimed that he didn’t tell anyone about giving birth because she was scared.
Gomez is being held on $800,000 bond. The sheriff’s office told KVIA that the teen is on suicide watch.
[Featured Image: Erica Gomez/El Paso County Sheriff’s Office]