Couple Facing Murder Charges In Death Of Infant In August

EL PASO, Texas — A federal grand jury indicted a couple on murder charges Thursday in connection with the death of a seven-month-old child in August, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Twenty-nine-year-old Thelton Andres Riley, Jr. and his girlfriend 29-year-old Leesa Trujillo are charged with one count of felony murder, one count of second-degree murder and two counts of injury to a child. Both are from the Laguna Indian reservation in New Mexico.

Riley, Trujillo and Trujillo’s child traveled to the Fort Bliss Lodge on Aug. 8 to wait for appointments at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center. On Aug. 10, Trujillo allegedly awoke to find the seven-month-old child not breathing.

Court documents allege the couple abused the child in the months before the death. The child had suffered several broken ribs, a broken arm and two broken legs, U.S. Attorney’s officials said.

The indictment alleges that the defendants never sought medical attention for the infant. Instead, they gave the child opiates to keep the child quiet, officials said.

Riley and Trujillo could each face up to life in federal prison if convicted.