Las Cruces Woman Charged After Newborn Found Dead in Portable Toilet

A Las Cruces woman is facing a first-degree felony charge after investigators say she gave birth to a newborn and left the baby in a portable toilet.

Police say 36-year-old Sonia Cristal Jimenez gave birth to a baby girl Saturday evening inside a portable toilet at Burn Lake before placing the newborn in the holding tank.

The investigation began around 10:30 p.m. on February 7, when staff at Memorial Medical Center notified police that Jimenez had arrived at the hospital appearing to have recently delivered a baby, but the infant was not with her.

Authorities learned from Jimenez’s boyfriend that the couple had been at Burn Lake earlier that evening and that Jimenez had used a portable toilet there. Officers responded to the location and discovered the deceased newborn in the holding tank.

Investigators say Jimenez gave birth, cut the umbilical cord, and placed the baby into the tank, where the infant drowned.

According to the autopsy, the baby was alive when placed in the portable toilet. The report found the newborn had breathed and swallowed the blue chemical liquid used in portable restroom sanitation. The substance was found in the baby’s lungs, trachea and stomach.

Police say Jimenez’s boyfriend was unaware she was pregnant or had given birth, and no charges are expected against him.

Jimenez was arrested Wednesday morning and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center, where she is being held without bond. She is charged with intentional child abuse resulting in death.

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