A Utah teenager is accused of researching “taking a baby’s life” and “littering” on the internet before killing her sick newborn son and then dumping his body on a highway.
Estrella Meza-Ojeda, 18, gave birth to her son prematurely on August 6, FOX13 reported. He was arrested Saturday on charges of aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, abuse or desecration of a corpse and producing false identification in connection with the baby’s death.
A search warrant for the teenager’s phone executed on Wednesday revealed a series of incriminating internet searches.
Some of the searches included: “how long will I serve in prison for killing my baby,” “taking a baby’s life,” “holy death” and “a dump near me,” according to FOX13.
The teenager’s mother allegedly told Heber City Police investigators that her son died accidentally and that she later left his body on the side of Interstate 80 in Parleys Canyon, the outlet said, citing an arrest affidavit.
Estrella Meza-Ojeda is being held without bail at the Wasatch County Jail.Google Maps
Officials believe that Meza-Ojeda intentionally tried to “erase any and all traces” of the newborn when she was overwhelmed caring for a sick child, the Deseret News said. He is currently being held without bail in the Wasatch County Jail.
Meza-Ojeda’s baby boy spent 22 days in the NICU before being discharged earlier this month, the Deseret News added, citing an arrest affidavit.
The child was discharged with supplemental oxygen and a monitor, which staff reportedly told Meza-Ojeda was essential to his survival.
On September 1, just days after being released from the hospital, Meza-Ojeda’s son – identified in the document with the initials “DO” – was readmitted by ambulance after he stopped breathing, the outlet continued.
Meza-Ojeda claims to have left her son’s body in Parleys Canyon off Interstate 80. Shutterstock
The baby arrived without supplemental oxygen, and Meza-Ojeda was sent home with an additional reminder that the oxygen was necessary for her survival, FOX13 added.
“Now it is believed that this time this is an attempt to end it [the baby]life and Estrella is either distracted or unable to continue it at this time,” the outlet said, citing the arrest report.
Ten days later, police were called to perform a welfare check on the baby when Meza-Ojeda failed to bring him to a follow-up appointment, the outlet continued.
Both mother and child were not home, and messages left on Meza-Ojeda’s phone were not answered.
On September 14, Meza-Ojeda’s roommate told police that she had not seen the young mother or the baby since leaving for work on September 11. When she returned, Meza-Ojeda and her son were gone, as were the baby’s clothes. .
The oxygen tank and the baby’s car seat, however, were still in the apartment, FOX13 said.
The roommate also claimed that she noticed the baby was not getting oxygen on September 10, and that Meza-Ojeda denied it when she asked about it.
An “extensive search” for mother and child later found Meza-Orjeda, who told agents with the Utah Division of Children and Family Services that her son was in Mexico, the outlet reported.
Then, on September 19, police tracked down Meza-Orjeda at her new boyfriend’s residence in Kamas, FOX13 continued.
She initially refused to answer questions about the baby, instead asking officers not to bring the missing child around her boyfriend because he did not know about the birth, the outlet said.
Eventually, the arrest report states, Meza-Ojeda told investigators that she sent the baby to Mexico with a family friend because she was overwhelmed.
“Estrella stated that it is difficult to raise a baby who needs special care and she wants to go back to work. Estrella stated that she had made a rash decision without thinking,” the document recalled, according to the Deseret News.
Meza-Orjeda refused to give police a phone number for the man she said was looking after her son, and phone calls to her mother, who also lives in Mexico, went unanswered, FOX13 said.
Throughout her interview with police, Meza-Orjeda kept changing her story about where and when she gave her son to an unnamed family friend, the outlet said.
“I repeatedly asked for information from anyone who could confirm his story and he said only his mother and sister (could), although their phone numbers were not working. He told me that the DO was great and was being treated by a pediatrician in Mexico City,” the affidavit said.
The search began on September 3 – two days after the baby was readmitted to hospital, police said.
When police questioned him again, Meza-Ojeda began to agree that “[the baby] no longer alive,” said the outlet. Eventually, she told officers she used her roommate’s car to meet a man at Smith’s grocery store in Park City, about 15 minutes from her apartment, the affidavit reportedly outlined.
Meza-Orjeda admitted that she took the baby with her, and did not bring her oxygen because she thought it was bothering her. The person she planned to meet didn’t show up, and when she got home she realized the baby was dead.
Meza-Orjeda claimed that she then drove toward Salt Lake City and left the baby’s body covered in a gray blanket with an elephant on top of it on the side of I-80, the harrowing report read.
The teenager led officers to the area where he believed he left the body, the Deseret News said.
“When Estrella saw this cloth [police found on the ground], she started sobbing and tried to go to the area. After a short search in the area, it was found that due to the lack of lighting and the possibility of animal activity in the area disturbing or removing the body of the DO, it was determined to establish a search plan with cadaver dogs and more officers,” the outlet said. quoting the affidavit.
“Estrella is overwhelmed by caring for a premature baby who needs extra care to survive and wants to return to a single, non-mother lifestyle and start a new life with (her new boyfriend),” the scathing report added.
As of Tuesday afternoon, it was unclear whether the baby’s body had been found.
The Heber City Police Department did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on the case.
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