Police: 2 Kids Give School Bus Driver Note About Mother Being Abused By Boyfriend

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (CBSDFW.COM) - Two children in New Mexico are being credited with "saving" their mother from alleged abuse by her boyfriend, police said.

Police in Las Cruces said the children gave a note from their mother to their school bus driver last Friday, April 23, which led the driver to call 911.

Police said they sent officers to a home and found the woman with cuts, bruises and abrasions "consistent with her claims of physical abuse."

A suspect, identified as 40-year-old Erik Alvarado, was eventually located and arrested. Police said he was charged with three third-degree felony counts of aggravated battery against a household member -- two for suffocation and one for strangulation.

According to police, Alvarado also faces misdemeanor battery and deprivation of property charges.

In the evening before the note was given to the bus driver, police said the 40-year-old suspect allegedly abused the victim throughout the night and is accused of "battering the woman, strangling her, and twice suffocating her with a pillow and a shirt."

According to police, the alleged abuse happened with the two children and another toddler nearby. Police said Alvarado also allegedly took the mother's phone "and prevented her from seeking help."