Authorities in New Mexico arrested a 40-year-old woman after she allegedly slammed her toddler daughter’s head against a wall because she was “hurt” because the girl was “so fussy.”
Vanessa Chavez is accused of intentional child abuse that resulted in death, according to jail records. Police said the incident occurred on August 2 at a home in northeast Albuquerque.
Paramedics arrived at the home and discovered a man performing CPR. They took over but were unable to revive the girl, so she was declared dead, according to a complaint obtained by the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Who is the key witness? The girl’s seven-year-old brother witnessed the entire incident. After witnessing the horrific incident, Chavez reportedly told the boy to keep his mouth shut about his sister’s death, identified in the complaint as EM.
“He can’t tell what happened to his sister,” the cops allegedly wrote. “There will be no consequences if he tells. He can’t say it. She is no longer coming back. EM just fainted. Mom did not kill her.”
But then the boy began to open up and revealed the alleged truth: Chavez was “bad to his sister” and she was “beating her up,” the boy, identified in the affidavit as AM, claimed.
“She slammed her against the wall.” Then she died. “AM hopes she will come alive,” detectives stated.
Chavez lost custody of her daughter after birth because the child allegedly had drugs in her system. After spending the majority of her life with a family member, Chavez allegedly took custody of the girl.
The girl’s father told investigators that Chavez became envious because his daughter appeared to prefer his attention over her own.
“It was hurting Vanessa’s feelings, and she had cried because she did not understand why EM was so fussy with her,” detectives reportedly wrote in the complaint.
The victim allegedly had bruising on the right side of her head, as well as injuries to her left arm, right cheek, ankle, and foot.
According to police, Chavez claimed the toddler was injured when she fell while learning to walk. However, the autopsy revealed that she died from a “large subdural hemorrhage,” according to the complaint.
The New Mexican reported that the Children, Youth, and Families Department had custody of two of the couple’s three children for about a year. However, the children were returned to their family in late July, after the couple completed their court-ordered reunification plan.
The agency released the following statement to local NBC affiliate KOB.
Two of the three children of Greg Montoya and Vanessa Chavez were previously in CYFD custody. On June 18, 2025, during a court hearing, the parents’ attorneys moved to dismiss the abuse and neglect case citing the parents’ compliance with their court-ordered reunification plan.
All parties at the hearing—including the Guardian ad litem, CYFD representatives, parents’ attorneys, OFRA social workers, and the presiding judge—raised no objections to the dismissal motion. The Dismissal Order was subsequently signed by the judge on July 21, 2025.
The death of this child is a tragedy of immeasurable proportions. This outcome could not have been predicted by any of the parties involved in this case.
Chavez remains in the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center without bond.
