Boy Dies In Hobbs; Stepmother Arrested

HOBBS, N.M. (AP) – A woman has been arrested in the death of her 3-year-old stepson in Hobbs.

Police say 27-year-old Contessa Herring has been charged with abandonment or abuse of a child resulting in death.

She’s being held in the Hobbs Municipal Detention Facility. Bond is set at $500,000. Hobbs police say Julian Herring died yesterday.

Officers say he appeared to have some type of trauma to his head. The boy’s body will be sent to the state Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque for an autopsy.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)