Hobbs woman found guilty after horrifically throwing newborn in dumpster

On Friday, a jury found Alexis Avila, 19, of Hobbs guilty of abuse of a child relating in great bodily harm and attempted murder in the first degree. 

In January of 2022, Avila was caught on camera throwing her newborn, dubbed Baby Saul, in a dumpster outside the Rig Outfitters and Home Store in Hobbs. He was wrapped in a trash bag.

Fortunately, three people dug through the dumpster to find him, and he was rushed to the hospital in Lubbock, Texas. Baby Saul is “happy and healthy today living with family,” according to reports. 

“Officers with the Hobbs Police Department were called to an alley way in the Broadmoor Shopping Center after three people who had been digging through a dumpster found the hours old boy in a trash bag, alive, and with his umbilical cord still attached but crudely cut,” according to YourBasin.com. 

“Medical staff testified that the newborn suffered from hypothermia, severe anemia, and kidney problem, among other issues after being abandoned and left in 40 degree temperatures for more than six hours.”

Once police found Avila, she admitted she gave birth at home and abandoned the child, claiming to be too young to take care of him.

Avila’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 1. She faces 18 years imprisonment, but it could be reduced to 12 years.

Following the verdict, Fifth Judicial District Attorney Dianna Luce noted how “tough” the case was but how fortunate it was that the perpetrator’s actions were caught on camera. 

“That video said it all,” she said. “It clearly caught her actions, her expressions and it’s still difficult for people to watch that video when you think about the fact that baby was inside that bag.”