Baby found in portable toilet tank was born alive... and drowned

A New Mexico woman has been arrested for allegedly putting her newborn baby girl in a portable toilet, where the baby drowned.

Key Takeaways:

• Police were called to Memorial Medical Center on February 7 when a woman came in who appeared to have given birth. The baby was not with her.

• Sonia Cristal Jimenez, 38, was brought to the hospital by her boyfriend, who told police they had been at Burn Lake earlier and that Jimenez had used a portable bathroom.

• Police found a deceased newborn baby girl in the holding tank of a portable bathroom at Burn Lake. An autopsy revealed the baby girl had been born alive, and had drowned in the blue liquid from the tank.

• Jimenez is charged with intentional child abuse resulting in death — a first-degree felony.

The Details:

The City of Las Cruces, New Mexico, issued a statement on February 11 announcing the arrest of Sonia Cristal Jimenez, 38. She has been charged with one first-degree felony count of intentional child abuse resulting in death.

According to the statement, at "[a]bout 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 7, 2026, staff at Memorial Medical Center notified police that Jimenez arrived at the hospital and appeared to have just delivered a baby, but the baby was not with her."

Her boyfriend told police that they had been at Burn Lake earlier in the day, and that she had used a portable toilet. Police went to Burn Lake and found a deceased newborn baby girl in the holding tank of a portable toilet.

An autopsy conducted on Monday revealed that the baby was born alive, and was still alive when she was put into the tank. She had swallowed the blue chemical liquid used in the portable bathrooms, which was found in her trachea, lungs, and stomach.

Zoom In:

It is believed that Jimenez gave birth to a living baby, cut the umbilical cord, and put the child in the holding tank, where she drowned. Police do not believe that her boyfriend was aware that she had given birth.

“By intentionally placing the newborn into a portable toilet containing liquid waste and chemical fluid, and by intentionally failing to rescue or provide care to the child, the defendant knowingly and intentionally placed the child in a life-threatening situation, which directly resulted in the infant’s death,” police wrote in the statement of probable cause.

Jimenez was arrested on Wednesday, February 11, and is being held without bond at Doña Ana County Detention Center. No charges are expected for her boyfriend.

“This is one of the most heartbreaking and disturbing cases I have encountered in my career. We will work closely with the District Attorney’s Office to pursue justice for this baby girl,” Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story told the Santa Fe New Mexican. 

The Backdrop:

This is indeed heartbreaking and disturbing, and happened in a state where a preborn child can be killed up to the moment of birth for any reason whatsoever. New Mexico is one of the most pro-abortion states in the nation, with millions in taxpayer dollars being spent on constructing abortion complexes, and efforts being made to remove state abortion reporting requirements so that the number of babies killed in the state each year is kept from the same state taxpayers whose money is funding the abortion industry.

According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, New Mexico is "very protective" of abortion, with the following state policies in place:

• Abortion is not restricted based on gestational duration

• State Medicaid funds cover abortion

• Qualified health care professionals, not solely physicians, can provide abortions

• State has a shield law to protect abortion providers from investigations by other states; may cover patients and support organizations

• State law protects data privacy for patients seeking reproductive health care

• Abortion reporting required

At least... abortion reporting is required for now.

The Bottom Line:

Tragedies like this have become common, even in pro-abortion states like New Mexico.

New Mexico, like every state, also has a Safe Haven law that allows parents to legally and anonymously surrender an unharmed infant, 90 days old or younger at hospitals, fire stations, or law enforcement agencies without fear of prosecution. There are more than 10 safe haven baby boxes in the state, offering around-the-clock, anonymous newborn and infant drop-offs.

Pro-abortion activists who are often very vocal about arrests for "pregnancy outcomes" don't yet appear to have been as vocal in this case, but that could change.