Serialously with Annie Elise - 49: 18 Year Old Mom Throws Newborn Baby Into Dumpster & Drives Away | WILD Interrogation of Alexis Avila

Episode Date: August 21, 2023

Welcome back to this week’s episode of SERIALously! In this episode, we are going to discuss Alexis Avila, a then 18-year-old woman who was accused of quite literally tossing her newborn baby into a dumpster. Recently Alexee Trevizo’s case, the New Mexico teen that dumped her baby in the hospital trash can, has gone viral worldwide. In one part of the infamous body cam footage, Alexee’s mother says, “Alexee, don’t you know about the girls who do this to their babies, and they go to jail???” Well, today, we are going to talk about who I believe Rosa was referring to– the girl who did this to their baby and went to jail– Alexis Avila. Alexis’s story is wild because not only was it also in New Mexico, but also, similar to Alexee’s case, a lot was caught on camera, including the crime itself and her interrogation.  Your True Crime BFF, Annie Elise  All Social Media Links: https://www.flowcode.com/page/annieelise_ About Me: https://annieelise.com/ SERIALously FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/SERIALouslyAnnieElise/ For Business Inquiries:  [e-mail] Today’s Sponsors: Daily Harvest-  Go to https://www.DAILYHARVEST.com/serial to get up to $65 off your first box! PDS Debt- Get your free debt analysis just for completing the quick and easy debt assessment at www.PDSDebt.com/Save.  Shopify- Sign up for a $1 per-month trial period at https://www.SHOPIFY.com/serialously Apostrophe- Get your first visit for only $5  at https://www.Apostrophe.com/AE when you use our code: AE. Interrogation Video Credit: Explore With Us YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ExploreWithUs EWU Alexis Interrogation Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx2zd0-WdAc Sources: KVIA CBS7 KQRE NewsWest9 Lea County, New Mexico Court Documents Trial Footage

Hey, true crime besties, welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialistly with me, Annie Elise. I am here today to break down another true crime case with you. And this one is one that a lot of you guys have been requesting, especially off of the heels of Alexi Treviso, which most of you I'm sure are familiar with that case, but if you're not, I'm going to touch on that in just a second. But it's one that you guys have been requesting. And so, you know, I had to do a deep dive on it, look at all the things. And let me just tell you, the most shocking part of the case that we're talking about today, in my opinion, is the interrogation footage. And I'm going to be sharing some of that with you too, just highlighting some of the craziest parts of that, because it is truly unbelievable. So

before we jump right into the case, let's just do all the podcast things really quick, give it a review, make sure you're following, like it, rate it, do all the things. And of course, if you want to watch the video version of this you can hop on over to YouTube. I always post the podcast version a couple days earlier than the YouTube version so you can hear it here first you can go watch it over there later whatever you want to do. All right now that we've gotten that all out of the way let's talk about today's case. So as I mentioned recently Alexi Treviso's case, the New Mexico teen that dumped her baby in the hospital trash can, has gone viral worldwide. In one part of the infamous

body cam footage, Alexi's mother says, Alexi, don't you know about the girls who do this to their babies and they go to jail? Well today today we are going to talk about who I believe Rosa was referring to, the girl who did this to her baby and then went to jail, and that is Alexis Avila. Now, Alexis's story is wild because not only was it also in New Mexico, but also similar to Alexi's case, a lot of it was caught on camera, including the crime itself and her interrogation, as I mentioned. So without further ado, let's get into it. Hello, 911?

Yes, we just found a baggie in the trash behind the... What is it? Damn, I can't think straight. Fuck. We're looking for somebody that dumped a black trash bag in your dumpster. What is this? Damn, I can't think straight. Fuck. We're looking for somebody that dumped a black trash bag in your dumpster. That you were pregnant, okay? Right. I found that out yesterday.

You found that out yesterday? Yesterday. Okay. It came out and I thought it was poop and it wasn't. Okay. So you were where? And you're at your house? Yeah, I was by myself.

By yourself? Yes. Okay. I mean, that's not normal, right? Right. Okay, what happened after that? I was in a panic. I didn't know what to do.

Okay. I was scared. Okay. I don't remember. No, I don't remember. That's because I don't remember. No, I don't remember. That's because I don't remember. No, but I'm aware of it. On a cold January evening in Hobbs, New Mexico, two men and one woman, Michael, Hector, and April, decided to go dumpster diving behind Hobbs Mall.

Now, their plan was to search for anything of value. So Hector parked his truck near three green dumpster containers behind the mall alley. Hector and Michael began to search for valuables inside the containers, while April remained inside the truck being the lookout. As the men were diving through the dumpsters and looking for valuables that they could keep, sell, do whatever, Hector began to remove a heavier trash bag from one of the dumpsters, and they were removing it from one to another when they overheard what appeared to be crying. They kept searching, continued to hear crying, and initially thought perhaps that it was just a little kitten making those noises. As they were removing the bigger

trash from one container to another, they came across another black trash bag and realized this is where that crying was coming from. Michael grabbed the bag from the dumpster and set it on the ground. While doing this, Michael noticed that the bag was the truck, so she exited the truck and opened the trash bag, and what she was about to find would change another woman's life forever. Alright guys, who else loves summer and is so sad that summer is over, but gets a little overwhelmed by all the planning that goes into it. For me, I have school drop-off, work, after-school activities, beach days, vacations, prep for vacations, packing. I mean, so much stuff. I always get so busy and a lot of the times I completely forget to eat, which is not good. And then I rush, I eat something that doesn't even taste good, I'm just trying to like fuel my body and it sucks. Also for me, I know that good days start with good mornings and I need to always feel energized and ready for whatever comes my way, but that doesn't happen if I'm not fueling my body. Well, I'm going to tell you guys about Daily Harvest because I recently discovered them,

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Thank me later. It is so freaking delicious. When she opened the bag, April made a shocking discovery, and Michael immediately called 911. 911, where is your emergency? Hello, 911? Yes, we just found a baby in the trash behind the... What is this? Damn, I'm thinking straight.

Fuck. The hogs... Fuck. Hey, where are we at? The mall. Halls. Broadway. Behind what?

We're behind Halls Mall. Okay, I'm showing you 1218 North. A baby. We had just found an infant child. Does the baby have any clothes on? Yes, it is making noise. Okay, do you have a blanket? It is a boy, and he is still alive, I believe.

He looks pretty good. Okay, do you have a blanket or something you can wrap him in? Huh? Do you have a blanket or something you can wrap him in? Yes, ma'am. He was in a blanket. Okay, can I have your name? He still got his umbilical cord, she said.

Hello? Hello, yes, ma'am. Can you tell me about the baby? He still got his umbilical cord. He's freezing cold, and he's very, like, he's drained. Like, he's very, very, very weak. Okay. Do you have him wrapped in a blanket and the heater on? I got him in my jacket. I took that wet towel that was wearing him off of him.

There, there, there, there, there. There are the cops. We got him. Okay, you got the cops? Yes, ma'am. And you said he was wrapped in a towel? Yeah. Okay.

Yeah, we heard something. And I think it was from the dog. Okay, I'm going to let you go. Oh, my God, it was a fucking baby. The baby they found was a newborn male baby with the umbilical cord still attached. He was found inside a trash bag inside that dumpster. When law enforcement arrived, the temperature was only 36 degrees. The two men were standing outside the truck and the woman was sitting in the truck passenger seat

holding the baby in her arms. Officers noticed that the baby had very light complexion with dark hair and was wrapped in a pink bath towel that was soaked in blood. They were also able to see that the umbilical cord was indeed still attached. The baby was then transported in an ambulance to Covenant Health Hospital after suffering symptoms of hypothermia. While officers were canvassing the areas around the dumpsters to search for clues that could help them find who could have possibly done this, they noticed surveillance cameras belonging to a store called Riggs Outfitters. So officers contacted the owner, who confirmed that his surveillance cameras had a clear shot of the dumpsters. And the owner agreed to meet with the officers to go over that surveillance footage from the day prior.

When Joe Ambrieli was contacted by the Hobbs Police Department about a crime at his business, he thought someone had broken in. What he found was much worse. There are cops everywhere. I could see something was not right. I could see in the faces of the cops they were distraught. I turned around and I go to the officer and said, what are we looking for? Tell me, help me out here. And she goes, we're looking for somebody that dumped a black trash bag in your dumpster. And I turned around and started to cry. And I said, please don't tell me it was a baby. And what was gut-wrenching is what, after we saw that, and having to watch five hours of people dumping trash on this baby, knowing that we know that there's a baby in there and people are just throwing trash in there.

This footage went viral. In the video, you can see a white car pull up, a female get out of the front driver's side door, open up the back driver's side door, grab a black trash bag, and then toss the trash bag over into the trash can. She then gets right back into her car and drives away. Now, thanks to the surveillance footage, police identified the woman who did this as 18-year-old Alexis Avila. Officer Perez went to the address that the car was registered to, and sure enough, there was that white car. So he knocked on the front door, and Alexis' parents, Domingo and Martha, answered. They confirmed that the white car outside was Alexis' car, and said that she was inside the house sleeping.

Martha said Alexis had been sick with stomach pains for the past week and had not been going to work or to school. Initially, Martha said that Alexis wasn't available for questions, but Officer Perez let her know the gravity of the situation. So Martha quickly changed her tune and agreed to drive Alexis to the Hobbs Police Department for questioning. Alexis's car was seized and brought to Hobbs Police Department for processing. The video of Alexis and Officer Perez is one of the most mind-blowing police interrogations that I have ever seen. Now, one of my favorite YouTube channels, Explore With Us, did a fantastic breakdown of this interrogation, so shout out to them and please go over and subscribe to that channel because they are outstanding and have always had the best videos. So I will also have their channel link and a link to this specific video in the show notes if you want to see the full version of this video and everything else that's over on their channel. But now buckle up because this is unlike anything you have ever heard. Alright, so I know there's a lot of Kate to talk about and I just want to ask you,

you know, why you think you're here or what led us to us being here, right? Obviously I do know information and the last thing I want to do is, you know, to start off on the wrong foot and for you to start, you know, lying. There's always two sides to the story. Obviously, I'm looking at a evidence standpoint, what we were called out to. There's, I don't know what you're going through. If you're going through anything, we're all humans. You know, before me being a detective, I'm a father, you know.

I'm, you know, a son and stuff like that. We're all human. It doesn't matter what rank we have or how old we are. All right, and that's why, you know, I asked you to come out here and give me your side of the story. Okay, I'm not here to judge you. I'm not here to question you. I'm not here to accuse you. I'm not here to, you know, belittle you.

That's not what I do. That's not my job. So my job is to investigate, and that's exactly what I'm doing. All right. So if you can, I would kindly ask you just to tell me the truth and we'll go from there. Okay. Obviously I got confirmation that you were pregnant. Okay. Right. I found that out yesterday. You found that out yesterday? Yesterday. Okay. So tell me a little bit more about that. What do you mean? Like... So how is it that you found out or how...

Well, I've been having back pain like really bad and I got in an accident September of 2021. Okay. Or 2022, two years ago. And I just thought that's what it was. And, I mean, the pain comes and goes, and so I didn't really think anything much of it. And it just kept hurting. And so my mom took me to the ER, and they just said that I had some kind of sprain. I don't even know what kind it was.

And they just gave me medicine for it, and it wasn't helping. Okay. But I still didn't think anything much of it. I gave them my urine sample and see if it was an infection or anything. There was nothing, I guess. I don't know. And then I just kept hurting, and so I went to the clinic, and and they did a urine sample and they told me I was pregnant and that's when I found out. You said it was yesterday? Yesterday.

And where did you go? What clinic? The one on Del Paso. Del Paso? Okay, which one? Lee? Yeah, that one. The one under construction. Who took you? Myself. My parents were at work. Your parents were at work? Yeah.

Okay. So I believe your mom said that she had accompanied you or she took you or she went with you? No, she didn't. Okay. I went by myself. So, as I mentioned to you before anything, I like to speak, you know, with the truth. Obviously, okay? I spoke to some people, and I know that back in March, you know, when you spoke to some people, and you told them that you were pregnant, so you

had prior knowledge, all right? So I'm not going to... Back in March? Right, you know. No, I didn't. Somebody by the name of Walker, do you know anybody, a friend of yours, a school friend of yours that I spoke with? And she's the one that told me that you knew that you were pregnant. Walker. And that you did not want the child.

Walker. Her mom is a nurse at the hospital. Walker. She's a friend of yours. You don't know anybody by that name? No. No? Not a Walker. Okay. Well know anybody by that name? No.

No? Not a Walker. Okay. Well, that's her mom's last name. But I spoke with her and she's the one that told me, obviously, that you knew or had prior knowledge. All right. Like I said, you got to be straightforward.

I don't know. I swear I don't know a Walker. Okay. When she is confronted with having told someone named Walker about her pregnancy back in March, she has very little reaction. Notice what Alexis does here. She doesn't deny knowing she was pregnant. Instead, she focuses on the information presented to her by the interviewer,

that someone named Walker told him about the pregnancy. She's hyperfixating on this specific phrase and actively avoiding the question. Okay, so far Alexis says she found out that she was pregnant the day before, and that when she first went to the hospital, the urine test came back with nothing. Now, personally, I find it hard to believe that any hospital wouldn't run a pregnancy test when collecting a urine sample. And then the second time when she went to the hospital, they told her that she was pregnant and that's all they said. I don't know. So then she went home and Alexis says they didn't tell her how far along she was in her pregnancy, which might be true. We don't know what

kind of urine analysis they did or if the hospital was aware, but she was at least aware that the day before she was pregnant. But then the officer confronts her and says that she has spoken to some friends months prior about being pregnant, and she acts like she has no clue. Now, sure, it's not unsurprising that she would lie about these things, but I'm assuming she didn't think that she would get called out for lying just a few minutes into her conversation. Next, Alexis will explain her version of events that day. But before we jump into her version of events that day, let's have a quick word from the sponsor of today's episode. And thank you to all of you listeners and viewers for understanding that sponsors are essential to keeping this podcast free. know what time you woke up or do you are you working do you go to school I go to school but I didn't go I haven't been to school this week and I didn't have work today okay where are you

working on Martinville okay so you haven't been going to school this whole week no no because you've been sick or yeah okay so you don't know what time you woke up obviously a lot happened okay so I just want to know I wouldn't be able tell you. Okay you don't know what time you wake up but you woke up. Yeah right. At your parents house where you live? Yes. You woke up there you lived with your parents? Right. Okay um what did you do when you when you woke up? I went to the restroom. Okay. I was in pain I was up all night going I was asleep and I go to the restroom and I just, all hours of the night, all day today. Okay. So what happened after you started going to the restroom? I just went back to sleep because I couldn't go. And then after that, what did she do? What do you mean?

Yeah, I mean, obviously. It was repetitive. And then my dad came, my dad went to the store and got me some pills. I don't even know what they were, but they were supposed to help me poop. And I took it and I went back to sleep and I stayed asleep for I don't even know how long. Okay. And then I woke up and I kept trying to use the restroom and I'd go back to sleep and then I just repeated it. What happened after that? What do you mean? Clearly by now, Alexis knows precisely what

the detective is talking about and what he wants to know. This is a theme that she continues throughout the entire interrogation. out where it happened how it happened or what led to that and stuff like that? I went to sleep and then I woke up and I went to the restroom and I was just trying and then it came out and I thought it was poop and it wasn't. Okay so you were where? And you're at your house? Yeah I was by myself. By yourself? Yes. Okay. I mean, that's not normal, right? Right. Okay, what happened after that?

I was in a panic. I didn't know what to do. Okay. I was scared. Okay. What did you do after? I cleaned myself, and I just left it where it was. And I was scared, and I was trying to call my mom,

but I couldn't because I was so scared. I was like, I think she's going to hate me just because I just turned 18. I haven't been 18 for a month and I'm the baby. Right. Just like in Alexis Treviso's case, Alexis also uses distancing language. She says,

Then it came out, and I thought it was poop, and then it wasn't. I cleaned myself, and then I just left it where it was. Another parallel between her and Alexi, although Alexi doesn't outright say it, is the controlling relationship that she had with her mother, which was inferred by hospital staff and anyone else who has eyes and ears, honestly. However, unlike Alexi, Alexis flat out says that she was scared and that she thought her mother would hate her. As heartbreaking as that is, it's one of the most common reasons that women fear pregnancy. Maybe not all women have the fear

that their parents would hate them, but something similar, that they were too ashamed or too embarrassed, scared, etc. to tell their parents the truth about what's going on. I fully understand and acknowledge that reality, but to me, it's just mind-blowing to see the distance that some people go to avoid being caught and how the lies continue even after giving birth. Like Alexi, Alexis was also a senior, so it's for sure possible that she was worried that this would impact her future or maybe she knew that her parents wanted a different life for her and that this would devastate them. At the very end, when the officer asks her why she would think

that, and her response is, because I just turned 18. I'm the baby. What she meant was that she was the baby of her family. She has two older adult siblings that have children. But another thing starts to come into play here. The fact that she just turned 18. This part is true since this happened on January 7th and her birthday was on December 22nd. However, pay close attention to all the times that she brings this up. or who was it? No, I was by myself. You were by yourself? Okay, and this happened where? In the restroom? Your restroom? You guys have separate restrooms? No, there's one restroom. There's one restroom.

Okay. What did you do after the fact? What do you mean? Or what happened? I mean, obviously. Like, I was just cleaning. I was scared. I didn't know what to do.

Okay. And I just wrapped it in a towel. Okay. Did you ever thought it in a towel. Okay. Did you ever thought of contacting, you know, an ambulance, a fire department, go out there and check you out? I didn't do that. I was scared. I didn't know what to do. Okay. Scared of what exactly? The baby. Like it was nowhere. Right.

But you're telling me that you knew yesterday, right? Yeah, but I didn't know. I didn't know how and I didn't know nothing. I knew, but I didn't like know it was coming today. Right. She seems to slip up and says she knew about the pregnancy, but then quickly follows up with, I knew, but I didn't know he was coming that day.

So it was unexpected. Right. You weren't expecting it to happen. No. Did you contact anybody? No. Okay, you said you didn't contact your mom? No, I tried, but I couldn't. I was scared.

Okay, so there's a difference between being scared. I mean, I understand you're young. You don't know, obviously, but if you, both you and I know that, I mean, pregnancies, you know, they're pretty obvious. Your stomach starts growing, you know, you got several different symptoms and stuff like that. I didn't know that. Right. I didn't have nothing. Okay. I just thought I was getting away. I was eating more. I was, nothing I was eating more I was nothing nothing changed so you're in

the restroom you give birth you wrap it into a towel what is that your towel color towel I don't even remember to be honest okay so what was your next I wouldn't what else you do after that I I just left and I drove around and I just put it where I put it. Okay. Where are we talking about? I mean, obviously I know where you went and you didn't put... Right. I had the trash bag in the car.

Okay. If you couldn't tell, the car is messy. But I put it... So... And, I... And then I... I put it in the bag, I took it to the car. When I was in the car, I had two trash bags. I took one with me, which is the one that I had, and then I put it again again and then I drove around

and I didn't know what to do and I just put it in there. First, Alexis says the trash bag she put the baby in was already in her car. Well, I had the trash bag in the car. While she did say her car was messy, most people don't go around driving with empty trash bags inside their vehicle. Where did you go?

Where did you drive to? JCPenney, I was in that area. I was, I live in that area. So where did you throw the garbage bag? In the trash. In the trash? Alexis completely avoids using the word dumpster and speaks in very general terms to downplay the horrific actions she allegedly took.

Okay, did you lock it up and seal it up? With the hair tie. I'm sorry? With the hair tie. With the hair tie? But I don't even think it stuck because it was broke. Okay. We're on the verge of breaking.

Were you by yourself in the car? I was by myself the whole time. Okay. You never notified anybody? No. Okay. We're on the verge of breaking. Were you by yourself in the car? I was by myself the whole time. Okay. You never notified anybody? No. Okay. So you grabbed your hair tie and just wrapped it around the bag? Yeah.

Both bags? No. Just, well, I guess, yeah. What color was the bag? Black. The black bag? So you put the hair tie around the black bag? Right.

I mean, the trash. Like in the trash, I just, when I tossed it in. Was it a normal trash can? Like one of those that they pick up, the city picks up or the bigger trash can or what? The bigger trash can. Well, what kind of trash can were we talking about? The bigger ones, I guess. Okay. What color was the trash can? Green. Weren't they all green? So you just went and placed it inside or outside? Inside. The detective is asking her to describe these events and using a very delicate manner in doing so. He knows she will have a hard time owning up to what she allegedly did,

so he stays very calm and casual when asking her specifics about how and where the newborn was discarded. So, obviously, you're 18 years of age, you know right from wrong, right? Right. Okay, so you wrap around a newborn inside a trash bag. I'm in a panic. I just turned 18. Right, right. It's not like I've been 18 forever. She admits that she took the baby in one trash bag, brought it into her car, got in the car, put the first trash bag inside a second

black trash bag, and dumped her baby in the dumpster. And when the officer said, okay, so you wrap around a newborn inside a trash bag, Alexis cuts him off and says, in a panic, I just turned 18. It's not like I've been 18 forever. Alexis tries to justify her actions, you know, by trying to say I'm barely an adult in an attempt to diminish her responsibility completely. Like because of the fact that she just turned 18, she's basically just a child. And what she did should be treated as if she was 12 years old and doesn't know any better or something like that. which, sure, 18-year-olds do make mistakes, but usually it's not murder. She also keeps saying in a panic, in a panic, and while obviously I don't know this and I am purely speculating here, it almost sounds like someone told her to say that. One, she just turned 18. Two, she was just

in a panic, but now it seems like that's all Alexis can remember to say. And it's like she's beating a dead horse with these two phrases. I just turned 18. I was in a panic over and over and over. Throughout the rest of this interview, she constantly tries to justify her actions by saying she's in a panic. And you'll start to notice it more and more. If somebody were to wrap you inside a trash can and put a tie on it and you're not able to move... Well, the tie was broke. I wouldn't be able to stick my hand in there. What do you think would have happened?

What do you mean? So what do you think would have happened? You never notified law enforcement. You never called for EMS. I didn't. And I'm still in... What exactly... What do you think was going to happen?

I don't know. You don't know what would have happened? Well, I mean, obviously I know, but... And I'm in a panic. I don't... There's a baby in front of me. I just... Okay.

You never notified your mom? Never. No, you never notified anybody? never no you never notified anybody nobody okay so it's not you know it's not normal behavior from any reasonable person to do what you did if i'm what do you mean it's not in a panic when i just turned 18 right it still isn't though we're talking about a baby i I know what you mean, but like, I don't get what you mean. In the beginning of that portion, the officer asked, what would you do if someone wrapped you in a plastic bag with a tie open? And it sounded like Alexa said,

while the tie was broken, I'd be able to stick my arm in it. So I could be mistaken, but it sounds like she's trying to say that if she could escape by sticking her arm through the tie, that a newborn baby would also be able to do this? Is that what she's saying? Listen again. If somebody were to wrap you inside a trash can and put a tie on it, and you're not able to move... Well, the tie was broke. I wouldn't be able to stick my hand in there.

And let me know over in the comments on YouTube if you're hearing the same thing that I am or if my hearing is just like completely disintegrated at this point. While he was out of the room, he either realized or was told that he needed to obtain more information from her and wants her to continue speaking to him.

So he's returning to the positive confrontation technique. Did you seek any medical attention? Or no? Do you think about, you know, what could have happened or what, you know, could end up happening to the baby? Yeah. Okay. My mom said it was in the book.

Is it okay? Okay. Um, they'll be briefing me here as we go. So last I heard the baby's okay. Okay. They'll be briefing me here as we go. So last I heard, the baby's okay. Okay. Now, this is the first time we've seen Alexis even refer to the baby as a human or that she was worried about how it was doing. Then when the officer says the baby is okay and she has this massive sigh of relief and says, oh, thank God. I wonder if she is actually relieved that the baby is okay or if she's more relieved

that she won't be charged with murder. I don't know. What do you guys think? Did it ever cross your mind to let anybody know, contact law enforcement, you know, go back? I don't know. The detective is trying to ascertain her state of mind after the fact

by asking her what she did after and what she was thinking. This is to get evidence showing she never had a change of heart or tried to help the baby in any way. Alexis again shows no remorse. Okay. I was still in shock the whole time when my parents got home.

They didn't tell them I was still in shock. I was just in my room. In your room? Okay. Did you ever leave the home afterwards? Did you go anywhere? No. Did you talk to your parents when they got home?

Yeah, eventually, but I didn't say anything. So your parents had no knowledge? No knowledge, absolutely not. And what if I were to tell you that they did have knowledge? What do you mean? They told me they did know about it. What would you say then? How? Because I didn't even know. Okay.

You didn't know, but yesterday you found out? I mean, what do you mean? Because I feel like we're talking about two different things, and it's not going well. We're talking about a baby that was thrown in the trash, like garbage, right? And it's a human being, that's what we're talking about. My knowledge is when they found out was when the officer showed up at my house.

Okay, so I'm talking about the knowledge of you being pregnant, obviously. Oh. Because I know that you knew back when you found out you were pregnant. I know. And it wasn't yesterday. That's what I know.

I swear to God it wasn't. Okay, I don't, like I said, I don't go that route, but I know. And I do my investigation prior to even talking to you and, you know, coming out here and interviewing you. Okay, and as I told you, I don't, I don't, I'm not here to judge you. Right. It's two sides to the story. But if you're going to come and tell me that you found out you were pregnant yesterday, and I know that's a lie. Why? Sorry.

Go ahead. No, go ahead. It changes things because I don't, I don't appreciate that. Right. I found out I was pregnant yesterday. Okay. Because I heard it. The doctor showed me.

I knew back in whenever, but I didn't know. Does that make sense? Like, I was like, oh, it's whatever. Alexis tries to stick to her story and uses air quotes to say she knew but didn't know, which could be her way of using vague statements to deflect from giving a straight answer. I knew it, but I didn't know. I mean, what are you even talking about? This whole thing is just absolutely bizarre to me and makes no sense. According to research, women who effectively deny their pregnancy know but do not feel that they are pregnant. These women often don't go through the typical bonding stage that many women experience while they're pregnant. This may explain somewhat why Alexis appears

to be focused on herself and why she doesn't show any empathy for the baby. So you're back, when is this? What are we talking about? Back in... When she is asked when she really found out she was pregnant, Alexis takes a strikingly long pause. This shouldn't be something she has to mull over.

August. Okay. Maybe a little bit before that. Her answer is in August, which is in stark contrast to the original story she was so adamant about. Right. I found that out yesterday.

You found that out yesterday? Yesterday. Okay. So yesterday, whenever you went to the doctor, how far along did they tell you you were? They didn't say. They didn't tell you? No. Okay. So that's how I didn't know it was coming today. All right. Next, Alexis confirms that she knows the baby's father. She gives his name and says that he didn't know about the pregnancy. She says the father is either 16 or 17, but she's not sure. They apparently met at school where he is a junior.

They dated for about a year and a half, and then broke up because it just wasn't working out. She also says she doesn't know when they broke up, but then she says that she thinks that it was around August. Now, this was the most maddening part of her interview. Or like what is in my head? I'm trying to reason your actions. That's what I'm trying to find out. Oh. A reason behind your actions. I knew I was too young, but I knew I would be able to do, like I'm about to graduate school.

School is not my worry. I have a stable job. Money's not a worry for me. Okay. So I would be able to. If the baby's okay, I want it. Okay. And what if I told you the baby was dead?

What would change then? Nothing. If the baby is okay, I want it? What? This isn't something you accidentally threw away. This is a baby, your baby, a human being who was left for dead in a trash bag in a dumpster who not only could have died from suffocation, the outside temperature, or could have been crushed by more trash being dumped on top of it, and you want it if it weren't for the good samaritans that

happened to find him and call 9-1-1 he would most likely be in a landfill at this point you don't get an oopsie takesie-backsie for this now i want my baby i changed my mind no no no no no you went to great lengths to get rid of this baby so now you can't just claim, oh, oops, sorry, I want it now. After the interview wrapped up, Alexis was taken to the hospital and accompanied by police. She was later arrested. Alexis was charged with attempted first-degree murder and child abuse, resulting in great bodily harm. She was arrested and released after posting a $10,000 bond and only spending about two hours in jail. The conditions of her bond required her to be on house arrest, but even so, public outrage of what Alexis did and the fact that she was being released caused tons of protests in the area because many people wanted her to be

detained the whole time. According to the criminal complaint, when officers talked to Alexis's mom, Martha, she denied having any prior knowledge of Alexis's pregnancy. She stated that she only noticed that she had recently gained weight, but did not think anything of it. She also confirmed that Alexis was dating someone named Stephen for about a year, but that it ended because of a battery incident in June of 2021, and she said that he was no longer allowed at their home. So I tried to look up more information on this, and I found this police call. Communication Authority, this is Paul speaking.

Hi, this is Alexis Avila, and I'm calling for assault. That's Alexis Avila making a 911 call on June 12, 2021. The 18-year-old is accused of throwing her newborn baby boy in a dumpster behind a mall last Friday. She claims she didn't know she was pregnant until the day before. Seven months earlier, she was at Club La Sierra, where she claims her then-16-year-old boyfriend hit her. The couple then returned to Alexis' house, where Avila's mom also called 911. Communication Authority, this is Erica. Hi Erica, this is Martha. I need a police officer at 8. Her mother's voice is shaky.

Well, my daughter was at a kingpin and apparently her boyfriend hit her. They punched her in the face and her cousin and the boyfriend or friend or whatever got into a fight. And if he did punch her her then I want to press charges. But then the call takes a quick turn when according to her mother Alexis loses control. Hey stop it. Who's who's yelling ma'am? They're they're on the way ma'am what's going on? Who's who's fighting? I'm in the back.

Ma'am, who's saying get off of me? Her brother is trying to control her, but she's just acting crazy. Soon, you hear the boyfriend in the background being questioned about what happened at the club with Alexis' friend. The store owner that had the surveillance video also posted the video of Alexis dumping her baby in the trash to his Facebook account. And it went viral, of course. When the baby's father found out about this whole situation, his family was completely up in arms and absolutely disgusted with Alexis. After her arrest, the baby's father, Stephen Astorga, told media outlets

that Alexis had told him that she was pregnant and had a miscarriage months earlier. He says that he had absolutely no idea that she was still pregnant. While waiting for her trial, the baby's father, Stephen, was given custody of the baby, and he named him Saul. By a miracle, little Saul was able to survive the first few hours of his life in a dumpster in those freezing cold temperatures with minimal lifelong damage, given the situation at play. Stephen's parents have been supportive of their son and their grandchild. So while awaiting her trial, Alexis requested supervised visitation with Saul, which was denied. Her trial started on April 10, 2023, with jury selection, and began opening statements on April 11, 2023. The defense tried to argue that Alexis really didn't know that she

was pregnant, and that the reason Alexis may have said she knew that she was pregnant but didn't know, with the air quotes, was that she had taken two pregnancy tests months before giving birth with one positive result and one negative result and it was because she was participating in a tiktok challenge with other people and she didn't believe the results what make it make sense they also claimed that she only talked to her friends about rumors of her being pregnant in school but not actually confirming she was pregnant to her friends. The prosecution revealed that Alexis put her newborn in a white plastic American Eagle bag with some receipts and makeup wipes in it. Then she carried it to her car, where she put the white

bag with the baby inside of it into another black trash bag, which contained water bottles, empty soda cans, random trash, Alexis's inhaler, and more random trash. So in the video, when she is seen throwing her baby away, she also included a bunch of trash in that same bag. Alexis testified during the trial and claimed not to remember her interview with police or her actions on that day at all, giving birth, driving to the dumpster, nothing. She insisted that she blacked out during the entire thing. She said that she has been attending therapy and now understood her actions. However, she said she didn't know her actions until they were described during the trial and after hearing the testimony of officers, emergency responders, and doctors.

She also said, I regret his first hours of life were traumatic, and I regret that he will always have this in the back of his head and will think that I do not love him because that's what he'll read and what he will hear. But that's not true at all. I do love him. I truly do. During cross-examination by the prosecution, Alexis answered that she didn't know to what seemed to be almost every single question asked. I don't remember. No, I don't remember. That's because I don't remember. Not that I'm aware of.

Not that I remember. Well, I don't remember working, like, what I was doing at work, so. No, I don't remember the interview. Well, I don't remember the interview, so I can't tell you. I don't remember. I couldn't tell you I don't remember. Alexis was found guilty of attempted first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in great bodily harm. She showed no emotion in court when the verdict was read, but was later crying. At sentencing, the prosecution asked the judge for no mercy, saying that Alexis showed no remorse for her actions and only cried when her verdict was given. Alexis's parents pleaded with the judge to be lenient with Alexis. Her father said,

Your Honor, I ask of you that you please have mercy on her soul. And her mother said, Judge, please have mercy on Alexis and allow her the opportunity to be a contributing member of society and most importantly, to one day be able to fulfill her motherhood role. The baby's father, Stephen, also spoke at sentencing, and he said, my son, my healthy, my loving, and handsome baby boy, he is never going to forget the things you did, but for that, I can say that my son will be somebody one day. No matter how much he has already been through, he will be somebody. As to my personal personal opinion i will never forgive or forget what happened on january 7th if it weren't for those three angels that evening we would be here for different reasons

alexis pleaded with the judge saying i regret that i have to miss out on every first milestone the baby has had and that i deprived him of motherly love i regret that his first hours of life were traumatic and i regret that he will always have this in the back of his had and that I deprived him of motherly love. I regret that his first hours of life were traumatic and I regret that he will always have this in the back of his head and think that I do not love him. In the end, the judge sentenced her to 18 years with two years suspended because of her age at the time of the crime and because of untreated mental health issues that she may have been going through at the time, meaning that she will have to spend 16 years in prison. In the judge's remarks, he said, and I quote, you've given yourself a life sentence of knowing what you did with your child, and you've also given your son that same life

sentence, and that is probably something that is hard to deal with as any length of time that you may have in prison. Alexis will likely be released from prison when she's 34 years old. However, her attorneys have already filed an appeal to overturn her conviction. The appeal cites six issues. One, whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying the motion for a change of venue.

Two, whether the trial court were wrong in allowing witnesses to testify as experts who were not previously designated as such on a witness list in order to put defense on sufficient notice. Three, whether the trial court were wrong in denying the motion for a directed verdict based on the sufficiency of the evidence for the charge of child abuse resulting in great bodily harm. Four, whether there was sufficient evidence presented for the jury to find Ms. Avila guilty of child abuse

resulting in great bodily harm. Five, whether the trial court had sufficient evidence to make a finding that the nature of the offense and the resulting harm allowed it to be designated as a serious violent offense. and six, whether the trial court were wrong in denying the defense's requested jury instructions. Alexis' appeal was expected, as every defendant that is convicted is entitled to an appeal, but it seems like her attorneys are going through the motions, and I'm not sure that this will overturn her conviction in the slightest. Alexi Treviso's case has drawn many similar parallels to Alexis's. Not only that their names are extremely similar,

but they are also both in New Mexico, and New Mexico not only has safe havens, but also has some of the most unrestricted access to abortion at any stage during pregnancy in the country. While their cases are different in a lot of ways as well, it's hard to deny that there is a serious problem happening where these young girls have no regard for the life of their baby after birth. They aren't the first and they certainly won't be the last. So how do we fix this? Is a sentence in prison enough of a deterrent? Apparently not, because people commit all kinds of crimes every single day that they could face prison for. So what do we do? And I honestly don't

have the answers, but I want to hear your take on this. So if you are watching this over on YouTube, please comment and let me know what you think about this case. Cases like these just really fascinate me because I'm unsure if it's truly fear of the parental repercussions that these girls think they may face or if it's because they just simply don't want the responsibility of a child. I don't know what the mental state must be for these girls to think that literally throwing their babies in the garbage is the answer and I think that's why I am so fascinated because I'm really trying to get into their psyche to learn what is it you're thinking in that moment are you fearful of telling your mom I'm pregnant I just had a baby or whatever the situation is or is it that you still want to be a kid you don't want the responsibility so you truly think oh if I throw it away it'll. The problem will disappear out of sight, out of mind. What do you guys think? All right, guys, and before I go,

don't forget to check out all of those amazing sponsors and deals that I told you about at the top of the episode. All of the links for your discounts are in the show notes below, and they will hook you up. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Serialistly with me. I have headline highlights for you coming this Thursday, where we will talk about all updates this week in the true crime world and new cases that happen this week. Because as you know, crime never stops and there's a new case every single hour, it seems. So come back, make sure you check out headline highlights this Thursday, where we will go over all of the newest information and newest headlines that are breaking in the news. And of course, make sure you're following the podcast so that you get

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