Inset: Ashley Rivera (Hidalgo County Jail). Background: The 8100 of North FM 88 in Weslaco, Texas, where Rivera”s 1-year-old child died after being left unattended in a vehicle (Google Maps).
Ashley Jasmin Rivera, 26, initially faced charges of injury to a child resulting in death. However, according to jail records, she is now confronted with additional charges. She is currently accused of criminal negligent homicide and abandoning a child, which posed an imminent risk of bodily injury. These developments were covered by local CBS affiliate KGBT in December. Rivera was taken into custody at the Hidalgo County Jail on Wednesday, where she remains on a $60,000 bond as of Monday afternoon.
As previously covered by Law & Crime, the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office released a statement indicating that deputies responded to an emergency call shortly before 9 p.m. on October 31. The call concerned an unresponsive infant located in the 8100 block of North FM 88 in rural Weslaco, Texas, a region not far from the Mexican border.
Upon arrival, deputies discovered the infant was not breathing. Emergency medical personnel transported the child to the hospital, where the young victim was pronounced dead. According to reports, the car seat was found tipped forward behind the driver’s seat, with the strap fatally wrapped around the child’s neck.
When deputies arrived, they found the 1-year-old not breathing. Paramedics rushed the 1-year-old to the hospital where doctors pronounced the child dead.
“The child’s car seat was found tipped forward behind the driver’s seat, with the car seat strap around the child’s neck,” the release reportedly said.
Rivera reportedly told investigators that she and her four children arrived at the location. The 1-year-old was sleeping, so she left the child in the car while Rivera and the other three kids went inside. Roughly 20 or 30 minutes later, a witness said he went to the car and found the child unresponsive.
An autopsy conducted a few days later determined the child died of strangulation.
Details such as where the mother and other children were going when she left the 1-year-old behind were not released. Cops say the investigation remains ongoing.
