Who is Estrella Meza-Ojeda? Teenage mother killed her newborn after searching 'holy death' on Internet
WASATCH COUNTY, UTAH: Estrella Meza-Ojeda, 18, has been accused of killing her premature baby and disposing of his body on the side of a road in Utah earlier in September 2023.
The deceased infant, who was born on August 6, spent 22 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Upon his release, the hospital gave his mom oxygen tanks and an oxygen monitor, which the baby needed to survive.
Estrella took the baby to the hospital after he had stopped breathing on September 1, reports KSL-TV. She arrived without the baby's oxygen tank.
According to a probable cause affidavit, investigators now believe she had attempted to kill the baby but was “either interrupted or could not go through with it at the time.”
It was later revealed by search warrants on Estrella's phone that she had allegedly conducted internet searches for topics on how to take a baby’s life as well as the location of garbage dumps near her on September 3.
“The Google search bar showed recent searches stating, ‘How much time will I serve in prison for killing my baby?’ ‘Taking a baby’s life holy death,’ ‘Kamas sewage treatment plant,’ ‘Salt Lake solid waste,’ and ‘garbage dumps near me,'” the arrest report of Estrella Meza-Ojeda states.
Estrella Meza-Ojeda made a rash decision
On September 11 and 14, police and state workers attempted to conduct welfare checks on Estrella and her son but were unable to locate them.
She was found on September 19 at a residence in Kamas without her son and was taken to the local police department to be questioned.
According to the affidavit, “Estrella stated that it had been difficult trying to raise a baby that needed special care and that she had wanted to go back to work. Estrella stated that she had made a rash decision without thinking.”
She claimed she had sent her infant son to Mexico with a man who visited from her hometown of Guerro, to live with her mother.
After several search warrants and repeated questioning, Estrella told police she had borrowed her roommate’s car to meet someone at the store and took her son without his oxygen on September 10.
She noticed that the baby had died when she took him out of the car. She stated that she then drove towards Salt Lake City and disposed of the infant's body on the side of the road.
Was Estrella Meza-Ojeda’s baby discovered?
The investigators drove Estrlla to the place where she had allegedly disposed of the body in a blanket.
A piece of fabric was found upon searching the area. “When Estrella saw this fabric, she began to sob,” says the affidavit.
Court documents do not reveal whether the baby’s body had been found. Estrella Meza-Ojeda has been arrested and charged with aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, and abuse or desecration of a dead body.