Left: Alexee Trevizo (Artesia (N.M.) Police Department). Right: Police body camera footage of Trevizo in the hospital after giving birth (via Law&Crime Network).
Several thousand people have signed an online petition that aims to ban a New Mexico teenager from attending university because she is accused of murdering her newborn baby boy in a hospital bathroom.
Alexee Trevizo, 19, is charged with murder in the first degree, child abuse, and tampering with evidence over the Jan. 27 birth of her son, who was found in the trash — dead — by staff at Artesia General Hospital.
Last week, Judge Jane Gray amended a prior pre-trial order in the case on bail conditions in order to allow the defendant to physically attend classes at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. An earlier order, by a different judge, used a domestic violence framework to craft a no-contact order between Trevizo and the deceased child's father — who attends the same school. That earlier order could have resulted in an inadvertent bail violation, her attorney successfully argued.
Now, a Change.org petition started by Evelyn Grasiano wants Trevizo banned from setting foot on the public land-grant research university campus — and possibly kicked out of school entirely.
Fashioning itself as the voice of the "concerned citizens of New Mexico," the petition asks for "the authorities and educational institutions to take immediate action to prevent Alexee Trevizo from pursuing a career in nursing or social work or any field of education."
The petition was started on Aug. 24 and has amassed roughly 2,800 signatures per day – standing just shy of 14,000 signatures as of Monday. The advertised "Next Goal" is 15,000 signatures.
Trevizo is not currently attending classes in person.
"The court allowed her to go to college, which she has a right to do," defense attorney Gary C. Mitchell told Law&Crime. "She is not on campus this semester. She is taking classes via Zoom because of this case and we didn't want to create any controversies."
The defense alleges the child was stillborn – and Trevizo is also suing the hospital for wrongful death, on a negligence theory, over the death of the infant, which she reportedly named Alex Fierro. The lawsuit cites morphine administered to Trevizo, after staff knew she was pregnant, as the baby's cause of death.
Prosecutors in the criminal case allege the boy was murdered, citing a medical examiner's report that classified his death as a homicide based on the presence of air in his lungs.
The petition argues the state's allegations alone are enough that Trevizo should not be "granted access to professions" or "entry into New Mexico State University" or "any other educational institution."
"I don't pay much attention to social media," Trevizo's attorney went on. "I find it to be pretty asinine and a way for people to spew hatred and malcontent, but when it becomes a danger to my client, I pay attention, so I have learned a little bit [about the petition]."
Mitchell largely reacted with disdain for the petition – but cautioned about what the general tenor of the protest could mean for his client's time in the Land of Enchantment's justice system going forward.
"My fear is when we get to jury selection," the defense attorney said. "I may have some potential jurors who think like these closed-minded people. It's not a question of whether I think my client is innocent, it's a question of whether I can get a fair trial."
The petition more or less convicts the defendant, saying Trevizo is "someone who has been involved in such a heinous crime" and argues that allowing her "to pursue an education" is "morally wrong."
Trevizo has not been convicted of a crime.
"These people just do not know the facts," the teenager's defense attorney continued. "And, for some of these people, knowing the facts wouldn't assist them much because their hatred and their closed-mindedness may not afford them the opportunity to learn. You would think if they are at a college or university they are there to operate with an open mind and to study and evaluate before reaching certain conclusions and making such malicious statements."
The petition urges three major actions.
First, the organizer wants NMSU administrators, licensing boards, and relevant authorities to reconsider Trevizo's admission to the university. The second ask is for "stricter background checks and screening processes" to ensure "the safety of vulnerable populations."
The third requested action is for administrators to "[c]ollaborate with local law enforcement agencies to ensure that individuals charged with violent crimes against children are not permitted to careers."
Mitchell suggested the petition was indicative of broader trends — and could form the impetus for violence in the future.
"Sadly some of these people react out of bias and ignorance," the defense attorney said. "I could see how this could get dangerous in a hurry – where people go out and do things so blatantly as this without giving it any thought, without knowing the facts, without proper study and investigation, Horrible things can result. This mob mentality … is extremely dangerous and far too often in this country, in this day and age, we what happens when people react like they are here."
"There's very little I can do or say," Mitchell added. "My job is to protect my client and ultimately try this case and that's what I'm going to do."
