A 19-year-old woman who is facing charges for allegedly killing her newborn baby in a hospital bathroom is now suing the hospital, claiming that the treatment she received led to a stillbirth. The incident occurred last January when Alexee Trevizo was caught on surveillance video entering the emergency room restroom with her hand near her rear end. Nurses discovered a bloody scene more than 20 minutes later, with the baby boy found in a trash can. In a wrongful death lawsuit filed in New Mexico, Trevizo accuses the hospital staff of administering medications that ended the baby’s life prematurely.
Alexee Trevizo, a 19-year-old woman, is facing a first-degree murder charge and one count of tampering with evidence for the death of her newborn baby in the bathroom of an emergency room. Surveillance footage captured Trevizo hurrying into the restroom with her hand near her rear end. Nurses unlocked the bathroom door over 20 minutes later, only to find a disturbing scene of blood. The baby boy was found inside of a trash can, wrapped in a garbage bag with another bag placed on top of him. The death certificate revealed that Trevizo had named the baby “Alex.”
In her wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital, Trevizo alleges that the nursing staff’s administration of several medications caused the baby to stop breathing before birth. The medications in question include Morphine and Ketolorac for pain relief, as well as Zofran and Ondansetron for nausea. However, former Philadelphia County homicide prosecutor and current medical malpractice attorney Jerry Dugan has dismissed these claims, stating that the amount of morphine found in the infant’s system was too low to cause death.
Trevizo’s attorney revealed that the baby boy had a minuscule amount of morphine, measuring at .19 nanograms, in his system during the autopsy. Additionally, the baby tested positive for COVID-19 and influenza. Dugan argued that administering morphine to a pregnant woman in the emergency room is not a deviation from the standard of care. Trevizo’s lawyer, Gary Mitchell, previously stated that his client was unaware of her pregnancy. However, Dugan criticized this defense, referring to it as the “Big Mac defense,” as photos of Trevizo with a noticeable baby bump have circulated online.
Artesia General Hospital, the defendant in the lawsuit, has not yet responded to requests for comment. A supervising nurse reported that Trevizo had lied to them on the night of the baby’s death, claiming she was not sexually active. Mitchell continues to support Trevizo’s claims, asserting that the hospital, along with the nurses and doctors, failed her. Trevizo’s trial for the criminal charges is scheduled for February 2024.
While Trevizo claims that the treatment she received caused a stillbirth, medical experts have refuted these allegations. As the legal battle unfolds, the hospital remains silent about the events leading up to the tragic incident. The trial, set for February 2024, will determine the outcome of the criminal charges against Trevizo.