Boy, 7, Advised He ‘Cannot Inform’ About Sister’s Demise After Mother’s Emotions Received ‘Harm’: Police

Prosecutors intend to cost Vanessa Chavez with intentional youngster abuse leading to dying, in keeping with jail data reviewed by Legislation&Crime. She is at present being held within the Bernadillo County Metropolitan Detention Middle and faces attainable life in jail.

“That is essentially the most violent and egregious act a mother or father can commit towards 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 Youngsters, Youth and Households Division. The New Mexican notes that the sufferer had simply been “returned dwelling 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 as a consequence of their lack of ability to deliver her to follow-up medical appointments.

Based on Legislation&Crime, CYFD had custody of two of Chavez’s youngsters for a couple of yr 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 dwelling 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 up, the 18-month-old was not in a position to be revived and was pronounced useless, per the grievance seen by the New Mexican.

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

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

Her father, Greg Montoya, on the time informed investigators that the lady had fallen off her mattress onto her face a couple of days prior, per the grievance, however as she hadn’t been throwing up or excessively drained, they did not assume it was that critical. He stated he solely seen a bump on the aspect 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 possibly the bruises had been the results of her tripping throughout a tenting journey they’d taken every week prior. She additional urged that possibly her daughter choked on meals and died in her sleep.

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

Police would finally obtain a very 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 bother. “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 broaden on what he was making an attempt to inform them, the boy allegedly informed them that Chavez was “unhealthy to his sister” and that he’d watched his mother “beating her up.” Detectives famous within the grievance 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’s going to come alive.”

In a press release launched to a number of shops, 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 courtroom 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 staff, and the presiding choose—raised no objections to the dismissal movement,” the assertion continues. “The Dismissal Order was subsequently signed by the choose on July 21, 2025.”

“The dying of this youngster is a tragedy of immeasurable proportions. This consequence 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.”