Cops: Mom of newborn strangled baby, "watched him die"

SAN ANTONIO, Tex. – A Texas woman told detectives she “strangled [her] baby and watched him die” after being taken into custody on suspicion of killing her newborn son and dumping him in the trash, according to an arrest affidavit released Wednesday by San Antonio police.

Nidia Alvarado, 25, was arrested on Tuesday night at her home and charged with capital murder, police said. If convicted, she could receive the death penalty.

The body of the infant, likely less than a week old, was found just two days before Christmas, stuffed in a duffel bag on the intake conveyor belt of a Waste Management recycling center in San Antonio.

“It’s believed that the suspect gave birth to that baby boy, and shortly thereafter murdered him by strangulation,” said police Sergeant Javier Salazar.

It is unknown if Alvarado has an attorney. Her bond was set at $2 million.

The arrest affidavit revealed that Alvarado informed detectives she had been trying to find someone who would teach her how to perform a self-induced abortion for several weeks. She told investigators that, after she killed the baby, she threw the body into a dumpster at her apartment building.

“Tips from the public” helped police determine the suspect, Salazar said. He also added it was thought Alvarado gave birth under an assumed name in the hospital.

“There were other children involved in the case that resided in the same place where the suspect resides,” said Salazar. The children are with Child Protective Services while authorities try to find out if Alvarado is their mother.

Texas' "Baby Moses Law" aims at giving desperate parents a responsible alternative by allowing a person to drop off a child under 60 days old in the care of an official employee without fear of prosecution. Designated safe places include hospitals, fire houses and police stations.