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New Mexico Supreme Court Bars Use of Alexee Trevizo’s Hospital Statements in Murder Trial
The New Mexico Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling that statements made by 22‑year‑old Alexee Trevizo to her emergency‑room physician after a newborn was found dead in a hospital restroom are protected by physician‑patient privilege and cannot be introduced at her first‑degree murder trial. The court also affirmed a lower‑court decision that hospital surveillance video and police body‑camera footage of Trevizo at Artesia General Hospital are likewise covered by the same confidentiality protections.
Trevizo, who was 19 at the time of the incident in January 2023, was charged in May 2023 after her newborn was discovered in a trash bin in the hospital’s restroom. In the recorded exchange she said, "I’m sorry — it came out of me — I didn’t know what to do," and later added she was scared. Justice Michael E. Vigil wrote that Trevizo lacked the capacity to waive the privilege because of her compromised medical condition, and that the presence of police and her mother did not constitute a voluntary waiver.
The ruling underscores the separation between medical care and law‑enforcement investigation in New Mexico, limiting prosecutors’ ability to use statements obtained in a clinical setting.
Entities
Alexee Trevizo · Artesia General Hospital · Justice Michael E. Vigil · New Mexico Supreme Court
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 3 SOURCES] Alexee Trevizo was charged with first‑degree murder in May 2023 for the death of her newborn found in a hospital trash bin. pulptastic.com · internewscast.com · nypost.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] The newborn was discovered on Jan 27, 2023 in a trash bin in the restroom of Artesia General Hospital. pulptastic.com · internewscast.com · nypost.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] Justice Michael E. Vigil wrote the opinion stating Trevizo lacked capacity to waive privilege because of her medical condition and the involuntary presence of police. pulptastic.com · internewscast.com · nypost.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] The court upheld that hospital surveillance video and police body‑camera footage of Trevizo are covered by the same confidentiality protections and cannot be used at trial. pulptastic.com · internewscast.com · nypost.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled unanimously that statements made by Alexee Trevizo to her emergency‑room physician are protected by physician‑patient privilege and inadmissible at trial. pulptastic.com · internewscast.com · nypost.com