(DailyVantage.com) – An 18-year-old mother is facing murder charges in Utah for killing her newborn son after the child was born prematurely. According to authorities, Estrella Meza-Ojeda willfully neglected to provide her son with the oxygen required to sustain him, causing the child to die just weeks after his birth.
The child was born on August 6th and spent over 20 days in the hospital due to the circumstances surrounding his premature birth. As a result of being born early, the baby needed oxygen regularly. The hospital provided Meza-Ojeda with the oxygen required to care for the child, but just days after the child’s release, Meza-Ojeda returned, claiming that she didn’t have the oxygen needed to care for the child. Authorities now believe Meza-Ojeda intentionally deprived the child of oxygen and that this first hospital visit was the first attempt on the baby’s life.
Following this, police performed welfare checks on September 11th and September 14th but failed to locate Meza-Ojeda. Police found Meza-Ojeda on September 19th, when she admitted the baby wasn’t alive. According to Meza-Ojeda, the baby died in her car when she left her home without oxygen. Following the baby’s tragic demise, Meza-Ojeda wrapped the baby in a blanket and dumped him off the side of a highway. Authorities also searched Meza-Ojeda’s computer history following September 19th and found results regarding statutory punishments for murdering a baby and nearby garbage dump locations.
Meza-Ojeda faces charges of aggravated murder and obstruction of justice. Meza-Ojeda is also accused of producing false information regarding the baby’s location and abuse of the child’s body regarding how Meza-Ojeda discarded the body. According to authorities, Meza-Ojeda planned to kill her son and intentionally took measures to erase any evidence of her son’s existence. Authorities also claim that Meza-Ojeda planned to kill her child due to being overwhelmed, and she wanted to return to the life of a young woman with her new boyfriend. Meza-Ojeda’s legal representation hasn’t indicated if the teen mom will plead guilty, but if she reaches a trial, the prosecution will likely succeed in convicting her.
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