The lawyer for a New Jersey teen accused of killing her newborn claims that medical staff at the Artesia General Hospital caused the baby’s death.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, prosecutors in Eddy County charged 19-year-old Alexee Trevizo with first-degree murder in connection with the death of her infant son.
Trevizo went to the hospital in January with severe back pain. She is said to have denied being pregnant and then allegedly locked herself in a bathroom. A housekeeper cleaning the bathroom found a large pool of blood and a trashcan that was heavier than usual.
The housekeeper called in nurses who found the dead body of a newborn boy inside a bag underneath other items.
Now, her lawyer, Gary Mitchell tells DailyMail that Trevino’s name has been smeared with lies.
“The fact is, she did not kill her baby. The testing [that was done] to determine that she did is so antiquated that it is medieval,”
Prosecutors alleged that Trevizo strangled the newborn, while Trevizo reportedly said the baby was not breathing or crying at the time of birth and she did not know what to do.
“There was no strangulation. This is not a murder case,” Mitchell argued, adding that nurses had given her morphine and a “cocktail of drugs” the should have never been given to someone in labor.
“This certainly was the primary cause of death of the baby. Guess what does cause major breathing issues in fetuses? Morphine.”
A toxicology reported indicated that the baby had 0.19 nanograms of morphine in his system, Mitchell said, along with COVID-19 and influenza.
Mitchell reiterated that Trevizo had no idea she was pregnant until she gave birth, despite the prosecution’s argument that she indeed knew she was pregnant and took measures to end the newborn’s life.
“You know, women will say to me ‘she gained 10 or 15 pounds so she must have known,’ but she was on her period when she went into the hospital,” he said. “Scientifically, 1 in 2500 women do not know they are pregnant when they deliver – especially teenagers.
“She went to McDonald’s every day with her boyfriend. She thinks putting on the weight is normal. She was taking birth control and had a period. She didn’t feel kicking, she didn’t feel sick…Why would she think she was pregnant?'”
Mitchell reportedly said the medical staff gave Trevino the drugs unintentionally and continued to do so, although the baby was being harmed.
“On January 26, she goes to the hospital and arrives at 12.03 a.m. By 12.05am she is admitted. At 12.18am, they start giving her muscle relaxants. At 12.28 a.m., they give her morphine, and they also give her more pain medication. That continues for 111 minutes.”
“They give her ketorolac, which you are not meant to give to pregnant women, and ondansetron for nausea. They give her Cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxer, acetaminophen, and morphine, which you are definitely not meant to give during labor.
“At 12.28 a.m., she is given morphine and blood tests. By 12.51 a.m. they knew she was pregnant. At 1.39 a.m., she enters the bathroom. They had removed the IV so she could go to the bathroom.”
The NM State Office of the Medical Investigator ruled the newborn’s death a homicide on March 28, and the Artesia Police Department presented its evidence to the district attorney’s office on the same day.
Trevizo is now behind bars on first-degree murder and tampering with evidence charges. Prosecutors are hoping to keep her behind bars without bail until her trial.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Twitter]
