Boy, 7, Instructed He ‘Cannot Inform’ About Sister’s Dying After Mother’s Emotions Obtained ‘Damage’: Police

Prosecutors intend to cost Vanessa Chavez with intentional baby abuse leading to dying, in keeping with jail information reviewed by Regulation&Crime. She is presently being held within the Bernadillo County Metropolitan Detention Heart and faces potential life in jail.

“That is essentially the most violent and egregious act a father or mother can commit in opposition to a baby,” wrote prosecutors of their movement for pretrial detention, in keeping with the Santa Fe New Mexican.

“CYFD extends its deepest condolences to all these affected by this loss,” added Jessica Preston, a spokesperson for New Mexico Kids, Youth and Households Division. The New Mexican notes that the sufferer had simply been “returned residence on a trial run” after she’d been born with medication in her system.

She’d spent most of her life to that time with one other relative, with CYFD telling detectives the lady, who’d been born untimely, was additionally faraway from their custody attributable to their incapability to deliver her to follow-up medical appointments.

Based on Regulation&Crime, CYFD had custody of two of Chavez’s youngsters for a few 12 months till they had been reunited with their mother and father in late July after they’d accomplished their court-ordered reunification plan.

Lower than a month later, on August 2, emergency responders attended the household’s residence on a name of an unresponsive child and arrived to discover a man performing CPR on a younger lady. Sadly, regardless of medical personnel taking on, the 18-month-old was not in a position to be revived and was pronounced lifeless, per the criticism seen by the New Mexican.

Crime scene investigators inspecting the scene famous bruising on the left facet of the deceased’s head and “reddish-purple discoloration” on her left arm and proper cheek, ankle, and foot, in keeping with the court docket paperwork.

An post-mortem of the kid revealed scattered bruising to the top and neck space, in addition to a “massive subdural hemorrhage that was seemingly attributable to trauma,” per ABC affiliate KOAT and NBC affiliate KOB.

Her father, Greg Montoya, on the time advised investigators that the lady had fallen off her mattress onto her face a couple of days prior, per the criticism, however as she hadn’t been throwing up or excessively drained, they did not suppose it was that critical. He stated he solely seen a bump on the facet of her head after that fall.

Chavez added that because the toddler was simply studying to stroll, she typically fell on her face, suggesting that perhaps the bruises had been the results of her tripping throughout a tenting journey they’d taken per week prior. She additional prompt that perhaps her daughter choked on meals and died in her sleep.

Montoya stated their daughter had been fussy since she’d been returned to their residence, including that it appeared the lady most popular his consideration over Chavez’s, which did not sit nicely with Chavez. “It was hurting Vanessa’s emotions, and he or she had cried as a result of she didn’t perceive why [the girl] was so fussy together with her,” police wrote of their criticism.

Police would finally obtain a totally totally different story after they started to speak with the couple’s 7-year-old son, who had been returned to the household similtaneously his child sister and was allegedly a witness to precisely what occurred.

Based on detectives, the boy was initially reluctant to talk up for concern his household would get in hassle. “He can’t inform what occurred to his sister. Nothing will occur if he tells. He can’t say it. She isn’t coming again anymore,” wrote police of their interview with him. “[She] simply fainted. Mother didn’t kill her.”

When requested to develop on what he was making an attempt to inform them, the boy allegedly advised them that Chavez was “unhealthy to his sister” and that he’d watched his mother “beating her up.” Detectives famous within the criticism that the boy lastly shared what he witnessed.

“She slammed her on the wall. Then she died,” police wrote, including that the boy stated of his sister that he “hopes she is going to come alive.”

In an announcement launched to a number of retailers, CYFD says:

“Two of the three youngsters of Greg Montoya and Vanessa Chavez had been beforehand in CYFD custody. On June 18, 2025, throughout a court docket listening to, the mother and father’ attorneys moved to dismiss the abuse and neglect case citing the mother and father’ compliance with their court-ordered reunification plan.”

“All events on the listening to—together with the Guardian advert litem, CYFD representatives, mother and father’ attorneys, OFRA social employees, and the presiding decide—raised no objections to the dismissal movement,” the assertion continues. “The Dismissal Order was subsequently signed by the decide on July 21, 2025.”

“The dying of this baby is a tragedy of immeasurable proportions. This final result couldn’t have been predicted by any of the events concerned on this case. CYFD extends its deepest condolences to all these affected by this loss.”