Prosecutors in New Mexico cannot use emergency room statements made by Alexee Trevizo, a woman accused of murdering her newborn baby by disposing of the infant in a hospital bathroom, after the state's highest court ruled Thursday that the evidence was obtained in violation of physician-patient privilege.
Background
Trevizo, now 22 years old, was arrested in May 2023 when she was 19 years old. She faces charges connected to the birth and death of her baby at a New Mexico hospital in January 2023. According to court documents, Trevizo gave birth alone in a locked bathroom at the facility before the infant was discovered.
The case appeared in court exactly once—in August 2023—when Trevizo's defense attorney, Gary C. Mitchell, successfully argued for suppression of the disputed evidence. Since then, prosecutors pursued an interlocutory appeal in an ultimately failed attempt to reinstate the statements, leading to Thursday's ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court.
Hospital staff had been aware of Trevizo's pregnancy through several tests but did not inform her of this information until after the grim discovery. When law enforcement was called, a charge nurse alleged that Trevizo "wouldn't tell us she was pregnant" and "killed the kid."
The Investigation
In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court of New Mexico affirmed an earlier ruling by Eddy County District Court that suppressed evidence obtained by police in violation of physician-patient privilege. The court found that Trevizo did not voluntarily waive her confidentiality when she spoke to a doctor in the presence of law enforcement and her mother.
The justices determined that one mandatory requirement for waiver is "the mental and physical capacity" to waive rights—and in this case, Trevizo lacked such capacity due to her medical condition. The opinion describes how defendant presented at the emergency room in excruciating pain, was administered numerous medications including narcotics at unknown doses, gave birth, and suffered ongoing life-threatening blood loss.
Despite her unresolved medical crisis, the court found Dr. Vaskas "without authorization, ambushed Defendant, bringing with her two-armed officers who stood in the doorway of her hospital room, and disclosed her personal medical information to all persons in the room without warning."
The state argued Trevizo waived her rights because her mother and police were present when the attending physician mentioned the dead newborn. The court rejected this argument because the doctor himself had invited police into Trevizo's room.
"Under all the circumstances, giving birth alone in the locked bathroom was surely shocking, frightening, and stressful to Defendant," the opinion reads. "We cannot conclude that Defendant's waiver of her physician-patient privilege was voluntary."
Key Takeaways
- Alexee Trevizo, 22, faces homicide charges connected to the death of her newborn baby at a New Mexico hospital in January 2023
- The New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously upheld suppression of statements made to medical staff in the presence of armed police officers
- Justices ruled Trevizo lacked mental and physical capacity to waive physician-patient privilege due to medications, trauma from childbirth, and ongoing life-threatening blood loss
- The court criticized Dr. Vaskas for "ambushing" Trevizo by bringing armed officers into her hospital room without warning or authorization
- The state argued third-party presence automatically waives confidentiality—a position the court rejected as inconsistent with existing case law
What's Next
Trevizo's case will proceed to trial without the suppressed statements. Her defense team successfully argued that any evidence obtained in violation of physician-patient privilege cannot be used against her. Prosecutors must now build their case around other available evidence. A trial date has not yet been set, and it remains unclear whether prosecutors will pursue additional charges or attempt new avenues for introducing evidence.
The ruling sets a precedent regarding how physicians must handle patient confidentiality when law enforcement is present, particularly in emergency medical situations where patients may lack capacity to make informed decisions about their rights.