John Jefferson
Left: Alexee Trevizo (Artesia Police Department); Right: Police body-worn camera footage of Trevizo in the hospital after giving birth (via Law&Crime Network)
A New Mexico woman accused of murdering her newborn in a hospital bathroom when she was a teenager recently won a significant legal victory and now the state is looking to undo that win — all but certainly pushing back a trial that was set to begin next month.
Alexee Trevizo, 20, has appeared in court exactly once so far — in August 2023. During that appearance, her defense attorney, Gary C. Mitchell, successfully argued for the suppression of some key pieces of evidence the state had planned to use against her.
In response, District Attorney Dianna Luce, who represents Eddy, Lea, and Chaves Counties in the Land of Enchantment, has asked the state’s highest court to salvage the high-profile case.
The defense’s successful suppression of the evidence reaches a great deal of what prosecutors likely would have presented to jurors.
First, the defense argued, the strong patient-physician privilege under New Mexico law prohibits the prosecution from using of almost all of what happened at the Artesia Hospital in January 2023 — except for the basic fact of staff reporting the dead infant found in the trash can.
“The privilege applies from the time she went to the hospital, and it applies to everybody there,” Mitchell said last year. “Everything that takes place from the time she first went to the hospital. Everything the doctor and the nurses said. They could not give that out [to police] without a waiver from my client, and we didn’t waive it.”
Mitchell was clear that the suppression request was broad: “Anything that happens at Artesia hospital,” the defense attorney said.
In the end, Fifth Judicial District Judge Jane Gray essentially agreed with the defense on the medical privilege issue.
Second, Mitchell argued, his client was effectively detained by the hospital on behalf of law enforcement; in fact, a doctor at the hospital waited until two police officers had arrived to ask Trevizo about what happened in the bathroom. This, the defense attorney claimed, was a violation of the woman’s Miranda rights under the Fourth Amendment.
The court agreed with that argument as well.
While many specifics are known due to various nationally publicized clips from body worn camera footage, the case is under a court seal.
More Law&Crime coverage: Bodycam: Teen accused of dumping dead baby in hospital trash arrested for murder in front of hysterical mother
Still, the prosecutor discussed the appeal in comments to local media this week — broadly outlining the state’s latest set of arguments in comments to Albuquerque-based CBS/Fox affiliate KRQE.
“All I can say is that obviously it was evidence that we believe was proper, evidence that we believe that we should be allowed to use, and we respectfully disagree with the court,” Luce said.
During last summer’s hearing, the state did not contest the strength of the patient-doctor privilege but, rather, said it did not apply.
“The defendant’s mother is present in the room with her at the emergency room,” Luce unsuccessfully argued before the court. “You can’t have a privilege if you have a third party present. So, statements that are made are not going to be privileged under this rule.”
The prosecutor also argued that police properly obtained the hospital’s medical records through a court order.
Gray initially signaled that both sides would have things to like and dislike about her eventual decision on the suppression motion — and asked for additional briefing on the matter. The state, it seems, disliked the court’s evidentiary ruling quite a bit more.
“Is this really just a medical issue that is private and confidential or were there some type of actions that rise to the level of criminal intent?” Luce rhetorically asked the TV station while aiming to skirt the confines of the seal on the case — and then she answered her own question: “So, we believe that it rises to the level of criminal intent.”
There is no telling if or when the New Mexico Supreme Court will take up the question and issue its own answer on the matter.
A pretrial hearing in the case was slated for later this month; trial was slated to begin in late August. Now, those dates are in doubt.
The baby boy was born and died on Jan. 27, 2023. On March 28, 2023, an autopsy determined his death was a homicide — though the defense has contested the examination process as “medieval.” On May 10, 2023, Trevizo was charged, then arrested the next day. She was released five days later and is currently out on bail.
Law&Crime reached out to both attorneys for comment on this story but no response was immediately forthcoming at time of publication.
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