A 38-year-old Las Cruces woman has been arrested and charged after police said her newborn daughter was found dead inside the holding tank of a portable toilet at a remote recreation area near the city. The discovery followed a late-night hospital report that the mother appeared to have just given birth but had no baby with her.
The case quickly shifted from an emergency welfare search into a homicide investigation, authorities said, after officers went to Burn Lake and located the infant in the waste tank of a portable restroom. Police said medical findings show the baby girl was alive when she entered the tank and swallowed the blue chemical liquid used for sanitation, supporting investigators’ conclusion that she drowned. The woman, Sonia Cristal Jimenez, was booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center, and police said the investigation remains active as detectives continue interviews and document a timeline of the night.
Las Cruces police said the investigation began about 10:30 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 7, when staff at Memorial Medical Center contacted officers about a patient who appeared to have recently delivered a baby. Officers arrived at the hospital and learned the woman had no newborn with her, police said. Detectives questioned how she got to the hospital and where she had been earlier that evening, treating the situation as an urgent search for a missing infant who could still be alive. Police said the woman’s boyfriend drove her to the hospital and spoke with investigators while they worked to identify the most recent location where the baby might be found.
Detectives said the boyfriend told them the pair had been at Burn Lake, a recreation area outside Las Cruces, and that Jimenez used the portable toilets at the site. Officers responded to Burn Lake and described the area as deserted at the time of the search. Police said they located a newborn inside the holding tank of a portable toilet, and Las Cruces firefighters recovered the baby from the tank. The child was dead at the scene, police said, and authorities have not released the baby’s name. Investigators said evidence indicates Jimenez gave birth at the site, cut the umbilical cord, and then placed the infant into the holding tank.
The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator performed an autopsy in Albuquerque, and police said the results shaped the charge. Authorities said the baby girl was alive when she entered the tank and “breathed and swallowed” the sanitation liquid used in portable restrooms. Police said the blue chemical liquid was found in the baby’s trachea, lungs and stomach, which investigators said supports the conclusion that the baby inhaled the fluid while alive. Police have not described how long the baby may have been in the tank before she was found, and authorities have not publicly detailed what Jimenez told medical staff or officers at the hospital. Investigators also have not disclosed whether they recovered items from the area, such as clothing or towels, or whether any bystanders were present earlier at the recreation site.
Jimenez was charged with one count of intentional child abuse resulting in death, a first-degree felony under New Mexico law. Police said they obtained an arrest warrant and took her into custody on Wed., Feb. 11. Authorities said she was booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center and was initially held without bond. Police have not announced whether prosecutors have filed additional charges, and they have not released a court schedule in their public statements. The early court process typically includes an initial appearance, a decision on counsel, and a judge’s review of bond conditions, followed by a preliminary hearing or grand jury action if the case proceeds.
Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story described the case as among the most disturbing he has seen and said investigators would work with prosecutors as the case moves forward. Police said they do not expect to charge the boyfriend and believe he was unaware Jimenez had given birth at Burn Lake. Detectives have continued to treat him as a witness, authorities said. The incident drew attention across southern New Mexico, where Memorial Medical Center serves as a key regional hospital and where portable toilets are common at outlying recreation sites that can be dark and quiet at night. Investigators said the hospital call triggered a rapid response that helped officers and firefighters locate the baby, even with the challenges of searching around portable toilet tanks.
Police said the investigation remains open as detectives finish interviews and review any available evidence tied to the trip to Burn Lake, including when the couple arrived, when Jimenez used the portable toilets, and when she left for the hospital. Officials said they expect to rely on formal medical examiner reports as the criminal case advances. Jimenez remained in custody as of mid-February, and police said additional updates are expected as court proceedings are scheduled.
Author note: Last updated February 15, 2026.