An 18-year-old Utah woman has been arrested and charged with the murder of her newborn, who was born prematurely.
Estrella Meza-Ojeda gave birth to her son on August 6. Because he was born prematurely, he spent 22 days in the hospital, and required supplemental oxygen. After the baby was released, Ojeda was given oxygen to administer to him at home. However, when she returned to the hospital with the child on September 1, she did not have the oxygen with her. Police say this may have been her first attempt at taking the child’s life.
“It is now believed at this time that this was an attempt to end [the baby’s] life and that Estrella was either interrupted or could not go through with it at this time,” a probable cause statement about the murder from the Heber City Police read.
On September 11 and September 14, police attempted to conduct welfare checks on the baby, as he was reportedly seen without oxygen, but they were unsuccessful in locating Meza-Ojeda. Finally, on September 19 she was located and told police “that it had been difficult trying to raise a baby that needed special care, and that she had wanted to go back to work.”
She gave varying accounts of the baby’s whereabouts to police, telling them he was with family in Mexico. After her stories did not add up, she finally admitted the boy was no longer alive.
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Meza-Ojeda told police she left her house without the infant’s oxygen and he died while in the car. Not knowing what to do, she wrapped his body in a blanket and dumped it along the side of the highway.
According to ABC 4, while authorities were conducting a search warrant, they found that Meza-Ojeda had made internet searches including “garbage dumps near me,” and “how long do you spend in prison for killing your baby.”
“Estrella was overwhelmed with caring for a premature baby that needed extra care to survive and wished to go back to a single, non-mother, lifestyle and begin a new life with (her new boyfriend). She also took care not only to dispose of D.O.’s body, but also attempted to erase any and all traces of his birth, life, and death,” the affidavit states.
Like all states, Utah has a safe haven law that would have allowed Meza-Ojeda to safely surrender her newborn at a hospital. The law is in place to prevent tragic situations like this one.
Meza-Ojeda has been charged with aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, abuse or desecration of a body, and producing false identification related to the baby’s death.
