Police charge Las Cruces mother after infant hospitalized with skull, rib fractures

Investigators arrested the mother of a 4-week-old boy after the infant was hospitalized with skull and rib fractures.

Elvia Hilaria Dorado, 27, of the 400 block of El Molina Boulevard, is charged with a first-degree felony count of child abuse resulting in great bodily harm.

Dorado and her boyfriend took their 4-week-old son to Memorial Medical Center at about 4 a.m. on Sunday, May 26, 2019.

Police said the couple told doctors the baby fell from a bed. Doctors discovered the infant had a fracture to the left side of his skull and was subsequently transferred to El Paso Children’s Hospital for advanced care.

Dorado claimed she was nursing her son, but fell asleep in bed. The woman said her son fell from the bed and landed on a pile of clothes and a heating pad.

“Medical professionals at El Paso Children’s Hospital determined the infant was suffering from abusive head trauma with bi-lateral rib fracture,” police said in a news release. The boy’s injuries were inconsistent with a simple fall from bed, doctors told police.

Police said the doctors believe the boy’s skull fracture was likely caused by his head being slammed with great force and the infant’s ribs were likely caused from being squeezed with a great amount of force.

Investigators learned Dorado was the only one in bed with her son when his injuries allegedly occurred and that her boyfriend was sleeping in another room at the time.

Dorado was arrested Thursday evening and booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where she is initially being held without bond.