Alexee Trevizo Case: Suppression Ruling Awaits Supreme Court

The Alexee Trevizo case is stalled. She’s charged with first-degree murder after her newborn son was found dead in a trash can at Artesia General Hospital on January 27, 2023, she has pleaded not guilty, and as of mid-2026 there has been no trial and no verdict. The reason is a pending appeal at the New Mexico Supreme Court over whether her statements at the hospital can be used against her. A ruling is expected by July 15, 2026.¹

What Trevizo Is Charged With

On May 10, 2023, Trevizo was arrested in Eddy County and charged with first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, and tampering with evidence. She pleaded not guilty.²³ Under New Mexico law, first-degree murder requires proof that the killing was willful, deliberate, and premeditated, though the statute allows that “deliberate intention” can be formed in a short period of time.⁴

A judge allowed her to remain free pending trial over prosecutors’ objections. The release terms let her finish her school year, attend her high school prom, and later attend college.⁵ She is still on pretrial release.

What Happened at the Hospital

Trevizo, then 19, arrived at the emergency room at Artesia General Hospital on January 27, 2023, complaining of lower back pain. She denied being pregnant and said she was on her period. Staff gave her several medications, including morphine, ketorolac, and ondansetron. At 12:51 a.m., lab results returned a positive pregnancy test. According to court documents, the same medications continued to be administered afterward.⁶

At 1:39 a.m., Trevizo locked herself in a hospital bathroom for about 18 minutes.⁷ After she came out, staff found the room covered in blood. An initial check turned up nothing, but a hospital cleaner noticed the trash bag felt unusually heavy. Two nurses opened it and found a newborn boy inside, cold and unresponsive. He was pronounced dead minutes later. The infant was later named Alex Ray Fierro.³

According to body camera footage and court documents, Trevizo’s attending physician confronted her, and she reportedly said, “I’m sorry, it came out of me, I didn’t know what to do.” When told the baby appeared full-term, she allegedly replied, “Nothing was crying.” She also reportedly told her mother that she had placed the newborn in “the trash bag.”³

The Autopsy and the Fight Over Cause of Death

An autopsy completed on March 28, 2023, ruled the manner of death a homicide and listed the cause as “entrapment,” meaning the infant died from lack of oxygen after being sealed in a plastic bag inside the trash can.⁸ The infant was determined to be about 38 weeks gestation. Air was found in his lungs and stomach, which investigators said indicated he had been breathing outside the womb and was likely born alive.⁷

Whether the baby was born alive is one of the most contested points in the case. The defense argues the infant was stillborn. The prosecution says the autopsy proves he breathed before dying of suffocation in the bag.³ A toxicology report found 19 nanograms per milliliter of morphine in the infant’s system, which the defense uses to argue that the hospital’s administration of morphine contributed to the death.⁹

The Suppression Ruling That Stopped the Trial

In June 2024, Fifth Judicial District Judge Jane Shuler Gray suppressed all statements Trevizo made in the presence of police and medical staff at the hospital. The ruling relied on doctor-patient privilege and, in part, on concerns that Trevizo was not advised of her Miranda rights during questioning in her hospital room.¹⁰ The suppressed material includes her alleged admissions to her doctor and mother, along with body camera footage from the Artesia Police Department capturing those conversations.¹¹

The ruling gutted the prosecution’s case. Without those statements, proving intent depends heavily on circumstantial and physical evidence. In July 2024, District Attorney Dianna Luce appealed directly to the New Mexico Supreme Court.¹² A jury trial originally scheduled for August 26, 2024, was pulled from the docket, and no new date has been set.⁸

What the Supreme Court Is Deciding

The New Mexico Supreme Court heard oral arguments in State v. Trevizo (S-1-SC-40478) on September 4, 2025. The question is whether Trevizo’s statements to her doctors and her mother are protected by doctor-patient privilege, or whether they are admissible because police were independently gathering information for a criminal investigation.¹¹

Michael Thomas, representing the New Mexico Department of Justice, argued that Trevizo was not in police custody when she spoke and that officers acted reasonably by consulting with medical staff before entering her room. He said treating doctors as extensions of law enforcement would distort the law. The state also argued that Trevizo waived any privilege by speaking in front of her mother and police officers.¹²

Defense attorney Amber Fayerberg countered that accepting the state’s position would erase the line between caregiver and investigator, saying it would be “to the detriment to the patients of New Mexico at their most vulnerable moment.”¹¹ Outside groups weighed in as well. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists filed an amicus brief arguing that criminalizing pregnancy outcomes undermines the clinician-patient relationship.¹³ The National Police Accountability Project, joined by the ACLU of New Mexico and Professor Ji Seon Song, filed a brief arguing that police presence in medical settings leads to worse health outcomes for patients.¹⁴ Pregnancy Justice also appeared on Trevizo’s behalf.

What the Ruling Will Decide

The Supreme Court took the appeal under advisement after the September 2025 hearing. The court’s 2025–2026 term calendar provides that all submitted cases will receive dispositions on or before July 15, 2026, so a ruling could come at any time.¹

If the court reverses the suppression ruling, prosecutors get Trevizo’s hospital statements and the body camera footage back, and the case against her becomes substantially stronger. If the court upholds the suppression, the state faces a first-degree murder trial without the defendant’s own alleged admissions. Either way, no trial date can be set until the ruling comes down.

The Defense’s Parallel Tracks

Trevizo’s lead attorney, Gary Mitchell, has pushed on several fronts beyond the suppression fight. He argues that the hospital caused the baby’s death by giving morphine intravenously to a patient of childbearing age without confirming pregnancy, then failing to inform Trevizo of the positive test for over an hour.⁹ He has also moved for a change of venue, citing media coverage in Eddy County, and has filed motions to dismiss the charges outright on the theory that the suppression leaves the state without a viable case.

On a separate track, Mitchell filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the estate of Alex Ray Fierro against Artesia General Hospital, Dr. Heather Marshall Vaskas, and other emergency room staff. The suit alleges negligence in administering medications that carry warnings for pregnant patients, in failing to promptly disclose the positive pregnancy test, and in leaving Trevizo unattended in a bathroom while she was in active labor.³ Mitchell has said that, according to defense experts, “the baby didn’t have a chance of survival.”¹⁵ The civil trial is expected in 2027.

Where the Case Stands Now

Trevizo remains charged with first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, and tampering with evidence. She is free on pretrial release. The next event of consequence is the New Mexico Supreme Court’s ruling on the suppression appeal, due by July 15, 2026. Only after that will a trial date be set.

1
Supreme Court of New Mexico. Supreme Court of New Mexico Announces Its 2025-2026 Term
2
Court TV. New Mexico Woman Charged in Death of Newborn Found in Hospital Trash Can
3
People. Alexee Trevizo Baby Murder Hospital Trash Wrongful Death Lawsuit
4
Justia. New Mexico Statutes Section 30-2-1, Murder
5
Inside Edition. Alexee Trevizo Baby Murder Trial Canceled
6
KOAT. Alexee Trevizo Lawsuit
7
Las Cruces Sun-News. Artesia Mother Charged With Murder After Newborn Baby Found in Trashcan
8
Law & Crime. Trial Postponed for Woman Accused of Killing and Dumping Newborn in Hospital Bathroom Trash
9
Court TV. Murder or Malpractice: What You Need to Know About Alexee Trevizo’s Trial
10
Yahoo News. New Mexico Supreme Court Considers Police Role in Hospital
11
KOAT. Alexee Trevizo New Mexico Dead Baby Trash
12
KRQE. DA Appeals Decision on What Evidence Is Allowed in Trial of Alexee Trevizo
13
ACOG. Amicus Briefs
14
National Police Accountability Project. State of New Mexico v. Trevizo
15
KESQ. Alexee Trevizo’s Lawyer Sues Hospital for Wrongful Death of the Baby