A teenage pregnancy tragedy unfolded as a 14-year-old girl, who was sexually assaulted by her biological father, gave birth to a baby alone by the roadside.
Overwhelmed by the fear that her mother might kill her if she discovered the birth, the girl ultimately drove a vehicle over the newborn.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference on the 8th to disclose the investigation details of this horrific newborn death case.
Police discovered the newborn, who had suffered severe trauma, near a farming area in Moss Landing on August 1st. Tire tracks and blood-stained soil remained around the scene.
The suspect who killed the newborn was none other than the 14-year-old girl, the baby’s mother. Detective Richard Geng stated it was confirmed that the girl placed the baby on the ground beneath the vehicle immediately after childbirth and then drove over the baby to kill it. Bloodstains were actually found on the right front wheel of the vehicle.
Immediately after the incident, the girl searched the internet for ‘how to turn off iPhone location.’ She was later found hiding under a pile of clothes in her bedroom closet.
Her home was the only place she could hide, yet the people she feared the most were also inside that house. As the investigation progressed, a greater tragedy came to light.
At the time, the girl told police she became pregnant after having relations with a peer. However, DNA tests revealed that the biological father of the baby was the girl’s biological father, Sergio Galvez Perez (38). Perez has currently been charged with incest, child abuse, and sex crimes against a child, along with charges of illegally marrying his own daughter.
The girl’s mother is also facing charges of child neglect. According to investigative authorities, the girl had been working on a farm since she was 13 years old. Without a driver’s license, she would drive a vehicle registered in her parents’ name to commute to work with her mother. The mother also neglected the girl, allowing her to miss school for months.
The girl was transported to a hospital immediately after birth due to concerns regarding her health. However, before discharge procedures were completed on August 4th, her father Perez took her away from the hospital.
Police subsequently tracked the girl’s whereabouts. On the 6th of last month, an Amber Alert was issued to find missing and abducted children. The girl was found and rescued in Mexico, and her father was also apprehended locally. Authorities are currently processing Perez’s extradition from Mexico.
The mother, Ophelia Garcia Ortega (36), was also arrested on the 6th in Salinas, Monterey County. She was charged with two felony counts of possessing and presenting a forged identification, two misdemeanor counts of child neglect, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Her bail was set at $150,000.
Investigative authorities believe that neither parent was aware of the newborn’s death at the time of the incident. The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office has not filed murder charges against anyone in connection with the newborn’s death so far. The decision on whether to prosecute the girl and what charges to apply has not yet been finalized.
Having become a mother at age 14 due to her biological father’s sexual assault, the girl is now the subject of an investigation into the death of the baby she gave birth to.
