A 17-year-old in Madera is now charged with the murder of her newborn baby.
Gloria Santos Mendoza is being charged as an adult. A defense attorney pleaded not guilty on her behalf.
Gloria Santos Mendoza is being charged as an adult. A defense attorney pleaded not guilty on her behalf.
Madera County detectives say they found the baby's body last Friday inside a home on Chapin Street near Avenue 16.
The District Attorney's office is not releasing Mendoza's photo at this time, and our cameras were not allowed in the courtroom Thursday, although she's being charged as an adult.
Investigators say Mendoza is from Oaxaca, Mexico, and got to Madera just three days before giving birth.
She speaks a Mexican dialect, and in court, an interpreter translated.
At times Mendoza was having trouble understanding what was happening, asking at one point why she would need a lawyer.
Investigators say when Mendoza showed up to a hospital last Friday, she showed signs that she had just given birth, but she denied it.
Detectives say they found a newborn baby girl wrapped in plastic in a cabinet under a bathroom sink.
"We see a lot of horrible things. And of course the death of an infant is always a horrible thing. And your heart always goes out for a poor infant that is killed," says Madera County District Attorney Michael Keitz.
In the neighborhood where the baby was found, Marybell Orejel says it is disturbing to know this happened nearby where she lives.
"It's shocking. It's really shocking. I mean, I know she was young, but still, she could've gave it to somebody. Somebody in her family. It's really really sad that that happened," Orejel says.
Legal analyst Carl Faller says a first degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life.
Now, investigators are trying to figure out the circumstances of this tragedy.
"There's going to be a tremendous amount spent on trying to determine her mental state, her education level, anything that might mitigate her ability to understand what has happening," Faller says.
Investigators are not releasing the details of the autopsy at this time.
The Mexican Consulate is involved in the case.
Mendoza is due backl in court later this month and is being held on a $1 million bail.