Woman Gave Birth and Allegedly Left Her Newborn Baby to Drown in a Porta-Potty Filled with Chemicals

A woman in New Mexico has been charged after authorities say she dumped her newborn baby in a portable toilet, where the infant later died.

Sonia Jimenez, 38, was booked on Wednesday, Feb. 11, and charged with one felony count of intentional child abuse resulting in death, according to Doña Ana County public arrest records and magistrate court records.

Police said staff at Memorial Medical Center contacted them around 10:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, Feb. 7, after a woman arrived who appeared to have recently given birth, but the baby was not with her.

Hospital staff told investigators that Jimenez’s boyfriend, who brought her to the hospital, said they had been at Burn Lake earlier and that she had used a portable restroom while there.

Officers went to Burn Lake and checked the portable restrooms, where they found a deceased baby girl in the holding tank, police said.

Investigators believe Jimenez gave birth to a live baby, cut the umbilical cord, and placed the child into the holding tank, where the infant drowned, according to police.

An autopsy indicated the baby was alive when she was placed into the portable toilet and had breathed and swallowed the chemical liquid commonly used for restroom sanitation, police said.

Investigators said they do not believe Jimenez’s boyfriend knew she had given birth and do not plan to charge him at this time.

Jimenez is being held at the Doña Ana County Detention Center without bond, according to public records and police. It is not clear whether she has legal representation.