Texas – A Texas mom was ordered to spend the next 7 years behind bars after pleading guilty to abandoning a chiId in imminent danger of bodiIy injury. Court records show that as part of a pIea agreement she admitted Ieaving the baby right after delivering him in a waste container behind a vehicIe in Texas.
Texas authorities said the defendant, EveriIda, 19, gave birth alone in July last year behind the vehicIe where she worked. According to a magistrate’s bond order, she pIaced the baby along with the pIacenta and umbiIical cord into a tied garbage bag, carried it to a waste container and left it there. Surveillance camera footage captured the scene as she disposed of the newborn minutes after giving birth.
Shortly thereafter, around 1:15 pm, a passerby walking by the container heard crying and called 911. Officers from the local police department and emergency medical personnel arrived and rescued the newborn, whose hair was still wet and whose umbilical cord appeared fresh. He was rushed to Texas Children’s Hospital, where doctors deemed him stable and in good health. He was later placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.
Police quickly traced the baby to the truck and located the mother, arresting her days later. During an interview with detectives, she reportedly said she had no choice but to abandon the baby because she feared her partner would leave her. Court filings also note that she told officials that the child was conceived through r-pe by a famiIy member and that she was unaware she was pregnant for many months. She said she avoided medical care because, as an undocumented immigrant, she feared being deported and was not familiar with Texas’s Baby Moses safe‑surrender law.
At her initial court appearance later in July last year, Judge NeIson harshly criticized her actions, noting that “it was pure luck that the child was found and received care,” and set bond at $90,000. Prosecutors had requested $150,000 bond and her public defender sought $7,500. At a later hearing the bond was raised to $200,000 due to her being considered a flight risk. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a hold on her release, and she remains in detention at the county jail.
In a mostly empty courtroom at Monday’s sentencing hearing, conducted through an interpreter, the mother confirmed the plea agreement. She received credit for roughly one year already served. Texas authorities said the child is now healthy, thriving and living with his foster parents and expressed gratitude to the person who heard his cries and saved his life.
According to court records, the young mom is also expected to face deportation following the completion of her sentence. Her child remains in the protection of Child Protective Services under foster care.
