The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that police body camera footage of a woman confessing to hiding her newborn baby in a hospital trash can is inadmissible as evidence in the murder case due to doctor-patient confidentiality.
In its unanimous decision, the court stated that all statements made by Alexee Trevizo in the hospital room in front of a police officer fall under doctor-patient confidentiality. Therefore, it affirmed that both the body camera and hospital security camera footage cannot be considered as evidence.
Doctor-patient confidentiality breached
The decision text stated that while Trevizo was still receiving treatment, Dr. Heather Vaskas brought two armed police officers into the room and 'ambushed' her without permission, disclosing personal health information. The court emphasized that Trevizo had no opportunity to remove anyone from the room before this discussion and that her medical condition was poor, concluding that her waiver of doctor-patient confidentiality was not voluntary.
Confession about the baby in the trash
The incident occurred on January 27, 2023, at Artesia General Hospital. Trevizo, 22, went to the hospital complaining of severe back pain and told staff she was not pregnant. After a while, she ran to the bathroom, and when she emerged about 20 minutes later, there was heavy blood on the floor.
A cleaning worker noticed that the trash can in the bathroom was heavier than usual and, upon checking, found a non-breathing baby boy wrapped in a bag. After the doctor informed Trevizo and her mother of the situation, the body camera captured the young woman's confession: 'I'm sorry, it came out of me. I didn't know what to do,' and 'I was scared, the baby wasn't crying.' When her mother asked, 'Where did you put the baby?' she confirmed she put it in a trash bag.
Police had not read Trevizo her Miranda rights before the confession. The prosecution argued that the statements were directed at hospital staff, not directly at police, so no Miranda warning was required, but the court rejected that view.
Autopsy report and ongoing allegations
According to the autopsy report from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, the baby died of suffocation after being placed in a plastic trash bag and tied. The report noted that air was found in the baby's lungs and hemorrhaging consistent with hypoxia was detected. Trevizo, however, continues to claim that the baby was stillborn and that she did not know she was pregnant until she gave birth in the hospital bathroom.
Trevizo was arrested on May 10, 2023, released on bail, and completed her senior year of high school. She later enrolled at New Mexico State University, where a campaign with over 30,000 signatures was launched to have her removed from campus.
