Monterey County authorities discuss new findings in the Baby Angelita investigation at a news conference in Salinas, Calif., on Oct. 8, 2026.
Monterey County authorities discuss new findings in the Baby Angelita investigation at a news conference in Salinas, Calif., on Oct. 8, 2026.
A newborn found dead beside a Monterey County road was run over by a car driven by her 14-year-old mother, investigators said Thursday, revealing disturbing new details in a case that also involves allegations that the teenager was raped and impregnated by her own father.
Detectives found the baby suffered crushing injuries, lead investigator Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Detective Richard Geng said at a Salinas news conference. Investigators believe the infant, whom authorities named “Baby Angelita,” had been moved several feet from where she was born to a spot beneath the vehicle.
“What happened in this case is nothing short of horrific,” said Scott Schelble, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Francisco office.
The teenager remains in Mexico after authorities rescued her and arrested her father, Sergio Galvez Perez, 38, the sheriff’s office announced Sunday. No homicide charges have been filed against anyone in connection with the newborn’s death, Geng said. Officials outlined efforts to extradite Perez but announced no plans to seek the teenager’s extradition.
The investigation began on Aug. 1, when deputies responded to Struve Road, north of Moss Landing, at approximately 8:30 a.m. The infant was lying on a dirt shoulder beside an agricultural field and was pronounced dead at 8:46 a.m.
A beige 2010 Mercury Milan with California license plate 6HCR883 was recovered by investigators.
A beige 2010 Mercury Milan with California license plate 6HCR883 was recovered by investigators.
Forensic evidence several feet away suggested the baby had been moved after birth, Geng said. Witness accounts, video and automated license plate readers helped detectives identify a beige Mercury sedan registered to Perez and the teenager’s mother, Ofelia Garcia Ortega, officials said. Forensic evidence inside the car further supported investigators’ belief that the teenager was driving, Geng said.
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Witnesses reported seeing the teenager enter the driver’s seat shortly before driving off, officials said. Investigators also found video that allegedly showed her driving what appeared to be the same vehicle on another occasion. The teenager had driven herself and her mother to work in the fields that morning, according to witness statements, phone records, video and work timecards.
Her father was in the Bay Area at the time of Baby Angelita’s death, Geng said. Investigators have found no clear evidence that he encouraged or otherwise participated in the baby’s death. Evidence also suggested neither parent knew the teenager had gone into labor, he said.
Approximately four hours after the baby’s death, the teenager sent her father messages saying she had given birth and hidden the baby because she feared her mother’s reaction, according to Geng.
“A while ago, I couldn’t hold it anymore, and the baby came out,” he read from a translation of the Spanish messages. “I hid it somewhere because my mom was going to see me with it, and she was going to kill me.”
The girl’s phone contained months of searches related to concealing or terminating a pregnancy, Geng said. He said on the day the baby was found, she searched for what would happen if police found a newborn belonging to a minor, and then how to turn off her iPhone’s location.
Sergio Galvez Perez, 38, is wanted on suspicion of incest and several child sex crimes.
Sergio Galvez Perez, 38, is wanted on suspicion of incest and several child sex crimes.
Detectives searched the family’s Salinas home on Aug. 3 and said they found the teenager hiding beneath a pile of clothes in a bedroom closet. Interviewed away from her parents, she allegedly said she had a sexual relationship with an unidentified boy and had received no medical attention after giving birth. Detectives took her to a hospital, and the next day, investigators said they learned her father had removed her before she was medically discharged. The pair then went missing, prompting an Amber Alert and widespread search.
DNA results received Aug. 19 identified Perez as the biological father of both the teenager and her baby, Geng said.
Perez faces felony charges of a lewd act upon a child younger than 14, incest and child abuse. He was arrested in Mexico on local drug possession charges, and U.S. authorities are seeking his extradition, Schelble said. Mexican child protection authorities took custody of the teenager.
Garcia Ortega, 36, was arrested Tuesday on charges involving forged identification, child endangerment and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Investigators allege she put her daughter to work at 13 using falsified documents, allowed her to drive without a license and kept her out of school.
Sheriff Tina Nieto defended her department’s investigation Thursday after criticism of its earlier decision to describe the abused teenager as a murder suspect. The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office subsequently clarified that it had filed no charges against her.
“It’s important to remember that the case involves a 14-year-old child who is also the victim of very serious crimes,” Nieto said. “Her safety, privacy, and well-being have remained a priority, and will continue to remain a priority.”
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