Man says landscaper asked to bury cat in yard; police find remains of missing toddler

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An Albuquerque man says his landscaper requested permission to bury a cat in his backyard, but police looking for the landscaper's missing 1-year-old daughter found her body instead.

Thomas Dunn told KOAT-TV that 26-year-old David Zuber called in late December and said he needed to bury a cat. Dunn said that was OK because his family uses the yard as a pet cemetery.

But the family was shocked in early January when authorities showed up and found Anastazia Romero's body buried in a trash bag inside a duffel bag and under a dog's remains.

Police began looking for the child after a relative of Zuber said he had said the child drowned several weeks ago. Zuber allegedly told police where to find the child's remains.

Zuber and 23-year-old Monique Romero, Zuber's wife and the child's mother, were arrested and accused of charges that include child abuse resulting in death. 

Police say Romero admitted she left her daughter in the bathtub with her two-year-old sister, reports CBS affiliate KRQE. Zuber came home and found the one-year-old dead in the tub, and allegedly said they buried the girl at Dunn's house because they were afraid they'd be in trouble.

Zuber is facing additional charges for allegedly burying the girl to hide the crime, the station reports.

Both Zuber and Romero have been released pending trial, KRQE reports.