Albuquerque mother charged in toddler daughter’s death
An Albuquerque mother charged in connection with the death of her 18-month-old daughter will remain in custody while awaiting trial on child abuse charges, a judge ruled. Vanessa Chavez faces charges in the toddler’s death, and the ruling came from Judge Solimon, according to court documents.
In early August, police responded to a home in northwest Albuquerque. When they arrived, they found the baby’s father performing CPR. They took over but were unable to save the child.
According to the Bernalillo County District Attorney, an autopsy showed bruising on the child’s head, neck, arms, legs and a large subdural hemorrhage. The baby also had a lesion in her mouth and bruising on her forehead, cheek and scalp, injuries consistent with physical trauma.
One of Chavez’s other children told police his mom was “bad to his sister” and said he saw his mom slam her into the wall, according to court documents.
The child was born premature with drugs in their system and was removed from parental care shortly after her birth. The child was recently returned to her parents’ custody under a home trial arrangement prior to the baby’s death.
