Prosecutor: Chances missed to remove 4-month-old from home before his death

Yahoo

14-06-2025

Jun. 13—Officials missed opportunities to remove a 4-month-old boy born addicted to fentanyl from his home prior to the child's June 5 death, a prosecutor said Friday at a detention hearing for the child's mother.
Prosecutors allege that the Albuquerque couple contributed to the death of their infant child by using fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine in their home where the child was found dead.
The boy's mother, Gabriella Muniz, 27, was ordered Friday by 2nd Judicial District Judge Courtney Weaks to remain in custody while awaiting trial on a charge of abandonment or abuse of a child resulting in death.
Weaks last week ordered Muniz's co-defendant, Victor Gonzales, 46, held in custody pending trial. Both are charged with abuse of a child resulting in death.
Muniz also picked up a new felony charge Thursday for allegedly possessing fentanyl in her jail cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center, according to a criminal complaint filed in Municipal Court. Muniz was charged after another inmate was hospitalized for a drug overdose on June 6.
Assistant District Attorney Rebekah Reyes told the judge Friday that Muniz refused to submit to a drug test in February as required under a Children, Youth and Family Department safety plan. CYFD imposed the plan because the boy was born addicted to fentanyl on Jan. 28.
"Both defendants were ordered to complete drug testing by CYFD," Reyes said. Muniz went to the testing center Feb. 10 but claimed she was not allowed to provide a sample because she had arrived after 4 p.m., Reyes said.
"She was then instructed to go the following day and that is when we have the refusal to provide that sample," Reyes said. "I don't know why the refusal to provide a sample did not immediately yield CYFD filing to take this infant into custody, but it did not."
The boy, identified in court records as C.M., remained in a hospital until Feb. 24, where he received a morphine drip to wean him off addiction to fentanyl, Reyes said.
"On the 24th of February, 2025, is when the last time CYFD had eyes on this infant," she said.
CYFD workers made numerous attempts to reach the couple from February through June by phone, text and in-person visits but were unable to make contact with the family, she said.
On June 3, two days before the child's death, a CYFD worker requested a welfare check for the child "due to no contact with C.M. and the family," according to a criminal complaint.
Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputies went to the couple's home in the 100 block of Sarah NW that day, but were unable to take action because CYFD's 21-day safety plan had expired, Reyes told the judge. Deputies made contact that day with Muniz's mother, who was in charge of ensuring the child's well-being under the safety plan, she said.
"BCSO did go to the residence and they were advised by the defendant's mother that her understanding was the infant was on a 21-day safety plan, and that at the end of that safety plan, the infant could go back with the family," Reyes said.
"That is, in fact, correct," she said. "The infant was only on a 21-day safety plan. There was nothing in place as to what was going to happen after that 21 days expired, so there was nothing deputies could do at that point. CYFD had not filed for custody of this infant at that time."
CYFD said in a written statement that the agency could not comment because the case remained under investigation. CYFD also said it was "cooperating fully with investigating authorities."
"The death of any child is a profound tragedy, and our hearts go out to all those affected by this loss," CYFD said in the statement. "State and federal confidentiality laws strictly govern what the Children, Youth, and Families Department can disclose regarding individual cases. As this matter remains under active investigation, CYFD cannot provide additional information at this time."
Reyes said Muniz has previously lost custody of two children.
Muniz's attorney, Deidre Ewing, said that no cause existed to hold Muniz in custody while awaiting trial. The Office of the Medical Investigator has not released a report indicating the cause of the boy's death, Ewing said.
"We're putting the cart before the horse," Ewing told the judge. "There is not yet evidence to say that a crime has been committed." Ewing also said that Muniz has never been convicted of a felony and shows symptoms of postpartum depression, a mood disorder that can occur after childbirth.
"We cannot be in the business of criminalizing people suffering from psychological disorders, with respect to the records on the drug testing and the records from CYFD that have been discussed," she said.
Muniz has been charged with criminal offenses dating to 2019, including armed robbery and kidnapping, but all the charges have been dismissed, court records show.
On Thursday, Muniz was charged with possessing a synthetic narcotic after she allegedly provided a corrections officer a container that contained a "white powdery residue" that Muniz identified as powdered fentanyl, according to a criminal complaint.
The new charges against Muniz arose from an incident that occurred in MDC on June 6, Reyes said. An inmate was found unresponsive, was given Narcan and transferred to University of New Mexico Hospital. The inmate recovered.
Muniz allegedly introduced powered fentanyl into the cell, Reyes said.
"The defendant did admit that she did have the fentanyl on her," Reyes said. "She admitted that it was pure powder fentanyl, and it was confiscated from her."