Photo: Yareli Diaz
UKIAH – On April 3rd the Ukiah Valley Medical Center received an infant less than one day old in distress, whom they were unable to revive.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office at first deemed the death suspicious. The suspect, 24-year-old Yareli Diaz (the baby’s mother), delivered the baby earlier that day.
At first Diaz claimed that she was unaware that she was pregnant and delivered the baby at her home in the bathroom. The baby appeared to be healthy with no obvious cause of death apparent, and the mother’s initial statements were inconsistent.
An investigation into the death continued. Detectives learned that the baby was delivered around 2:45 p.m., but then Diaz cleaned up the bathroom “in what appeared to be an attempt to conceal the child’s birth from her parents.”
Apparently the suspect then wrapped her baby in a towel and placed her in the rear seat of a parked vehicle and returned inside her house.
Then at 6:00 Diaz went to work, until 8:45 p.m. She told a friend about the baby, and the friend convinced Diaz to take the newborn to the hospital
The MCSO said, “Detectives believed between the birth and the arrival at the hospital the infant had received no care from Diaz. Life saving measures were attempted by hospital staff but they were not successful.”
The post-mortem examination revealed that the baby was a full-term healthy female. Finally, “The cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to the baby’s mouth and nose being covered by towels and the placenta.”
Further investigation uncovered that, Diaz did know that she was pregnant. In fact, she had delivered a child several years ago and her parents are helping to raise that child.
The MCSO adds, “At the conclusion of the investigation Detectives submitted the case to the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office for review and consideration of a charge of murder. The DA’s Office then filed a case in the Mendocino County Superior Court and requested an arrest warrant charging Diaz with murder.”
Finally, on June 25, deputies took Diaz into custody on the warrant. She was booked on one count of murder, with a bail amount of $500,000.
