ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A woman charged with the child abuse death of her daughter is expected in court Thursday for a competency hearing. Now, we are seeing the moments that followed her arrival at the hospital with her three-year-old, who was pronounced dead.
Kerri Santos arrived at the University of New Mexico Hospital in the early morning in January 2024, claiming she had driven across the country to escape an abusive situation in Massachusetts. She had been traveling with her three young children, her adult son Austin Bing, and Christina Pena-Cantor. Santos stated that her three-year-old daughter had not been feeling well, and they had stopped at a gas station for her to use the bathroom. According to Santos, the child had fallen off the toilet. When they arrived at the hospital, doctors told police that the child was already dead.
Officers began to question Santos’s account after doctors observed several bruises on the child’s body that were in various stages of healing. There were also signs that the child had been tied up. After interviewing Santos’s other child, it was revealed that all three of her children had been sexually abused.
Since the toddler’s death, four people have been arrested: Santos, Bing, Pena-Cantor, and James Welch, the man they were staying with in Albuquerque shortly before the death.
On Thursday, Santos is scheduled to appear before a judge for a competency hearing to determine if she is fit to stand trial.
KRQE News 13 reached out to the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department to ask about Santos’s two other children and whether they remain in their care. They informed us that, while they cannot disclose case specifics, the children are safe.
