Alexee Trevizo, who is facing a first-degree murder charge, a charge of child abuse resulting in death, and a charge of tampering with evidence in connection with her newborn son’s death, has filed a lawsuit against the hospital where her son’s body was found.
In January, Trevizo went to Artesia General Hospital complaining of back pain. Hours later, her full-term baby, reportedly born at 38 weeks, was found dead, concealed in a hospital garbage can. She had denied being pregnant, but lab work run by doctors showed that she was. While at the hospital, she locked herself in the bathroom for an extended period of time. A custodial staff member later found a large blood spill in the bathroom and called in two nurses who found the baby in the garbage.
An autopsy determined that the baby boy died from ‘entrapment‘ after being put in a tied plastic bag and that there was air in his lungs, proving that he took a breath. His death was ruled a homicide and Trevizo was arrested on May 10. In between her son’s death and her arrest, Trevizo attended prom with her boyfriend at the time, the baby’s father, Devyn Fierro.
In her lawsuit, her son’s name appears as Alex Ray Fierro — and her attorneys allege that the hospital contributed to the boy’s death. Though the autopsy listed the cause of death as entrapment, a toxicology report revealed several drugs in his system including morphine, which was given to Trevizo while she was in the emergency room.
Her attorney argues that the hospital did not respond to the positive pregnancy test in a reasonable time frame and that the morphine contributed to the boy’s death.
“A fact that’s critical in this case: (the hospital) began administering morphine, a pain killer, and other pain killers to her for her back pain and abdominal pain within 28 minutes after she was in the hospital,” said attorney Gary Mitchell. “And then they didn’t stop administering that even though they knew that she was pregnant. They were administering that in an IV.”
The lawsuit establishes a timeline that states that Trevizo was given morphine and other drugs at 12:28 in the morning at the same time that lab orders were put into the hospital system. At 12:51, the positive pregnancy test result was sent to the doctor and nurses but it wasn’t until 1:39 a.m., the lawsuit alleges, that a nurse removed Trevizo’s IV, which is when she ran down the hall to the bathroom. She allegedly gave birth at 1:56 a.m. and her baby was found and then pronounced dead at 2:38 a.m.
The lawsuit also argues that the hospital and its administrators violated HIPAA laws by allowing police officers to use lapel cameras to record questions they asked of Trevizo and by allowing medical records and lab results to be released to the public.
Meanwhile, a petition to have Trevizo removed as a student from New Mexico State University (NMSU) as she awaits her trial has received more than 25,000 of the 35,000 signatures petitioners are seeking. The petition also asks that NMSU implement stricter background checks on potential students and that it work with local law enforcement to ensure that anyone charged with violent crimes against children not be allowed to enter certain careers.
Trevizo appeared in a courtroom via Zoom in August with her attorney for a pre-trial hearing during which time her defense team was able to get the judge to allow her to physically return to NMSU, the same school that Fierro attends. A different judge had previously ruled that Trevizo could not have contact with Fierro, but Trevizo’s lawyer wanted that no-contact order modified or removed completely in case the two “run into one another” by accident.
Dianna Luce, attorney for the state, said that they have concerns about “a continuing personal relationship” between Fierro and Trevizo because she doesn’t want Trevizo to become pregnant and possibly kill another baby. This could, of course, happen with someone other than Fierro, and Trevizo’s attorney said they are keeping a close eye on her medical care.
Trevizo’s trial is not scheduled to begin until August 2024.
