A New Mexico woman gave birth inside a portable toilet and “dropped” her newborn daughter into the toilet’s holding tank, where the baby drowned, according to police.
now, Sonia Cristal Jimenez38, faces an intentional charge child abuse resulting in deathwhich is a felony, the Las Cruces Police Department said in a press release posted on Facebook on Wednesday, February 11.
An attorney for Jimenez was not listed in court records consulted by Us Weekly on Friday February 13. Records show he has yet to enter a plea.
After Jimenez allegedly gave birth on Feb. 7, her boyfriend took her to a Las Cruces hospital that same night around 10:30 p.m., when staff learned she “looked like she just gave birth to a baby,” police said.
However, staff realized “the baby was not with her” and called police, according to authorities.
Jimenez’s boyfriend told police that before going to the hospital, he and Jimenez were at Burn Lake, where Jimenez was using a portable toilet, according to police. Burn Lake is about a 225 mile drive south of Albuquerque.
The tip led authorities to find the body of Jimenez’s newborn baby inside the toilet’s holding tank, police said.
Two people from Illinois, Nicole Pokrzywa and William Cosmen, have been arrested after being accused of trying to flush a child down a toilet. When they were unsuccessful in the task, the couple eventually buried the baby’s body in a beer crate. The Will County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a press release that Pokrzywa, (…)
Las Cruces firefighters “recovered the lifeless baby,” according to authorities.
An investigation revealed that Jimenez likely cut her baby’s umbilical cord after giving birth and then put her down the toilet, police said.
An autopsy performed Monday, Feb. 9, confirmed Jimenez’s baby “was alive when she was dropped” into the liquid in the portable potty, according to police.
“The autopsy showed that he breathed in and swallowed the blue chemical liquid commonly used in the sanitation of portable toilets,” police said.
The blue chemical liquid was located in the newborn’s “trachea, lungs and stomach,” revealing that she “breathed and swallowed the liquid while she was alive,” according to police.
Investigators do not believe her boyfriend knew Jimenez gave birth to their daughter in the bathroom, police said.
Authorities do not expect to file charges against him in connection with the baby’s death, police said.
Jimenez was arrested on Wednesday, Feb. 11 and booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center, police said. She is being held without bond.
In a comment left under the Las Cruces Police Department’s Facebook post about Jimenez’s arrest, Facebook user Ralph Monget wrote that “While everyone says a prayer for this child, please don’t forget to say one for the police and firefighters who had to deal with this tragedy first hand.”
UPDATE: 02/13/2026 at 12:10 p.m.: Police have arrested a New Mexico man for allegedly killing his 11-month-old son before partially burying the baby’s remains in a remote area. Us Weekly confirmed that John Hannon, 43, was arrested for child abuse resulting in death and tampering with evidence, according to the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office. (…)
“The firefighter who went into that mess to retrieve that child’s lifeless body. The investigators who attended the autopsy,” Monget said. “These are incidents and images that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. However, they are asked to put it away and move on to the next call. Keep them in mind as you raise this child!!”
His comment, which was followed by more than 1,000 other comments, garnered nearly 400 reactions.
Jimenez made his first court appearance on Thursday, Feb. 12, records show. His next court date was not immediately listed.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Helpline for children at 1-800-422-4453.