Albuquerque Mother Charged in Death of 18-Month-Old Daughter Weeks After Child Returned to Her Care

The Albuquerque mother charged with the tragic death of her toddler after state reunification.

By Savage RoyalT | August 11, 2025 | SavageRoyalT.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An Albuquerque mother is facing the possibility of life in prison after authorities say she violently killed her 18-month-old daughter just weeks after the child was returned to her custody under a state reunification plan.

Vanessa Chavez, 40, was arrested on charges of intentional child abuse resulting in death following the August 2 incident at her home on Cleghorn Road NW. Emergency responders were called that afternoon for an unresponsive infant, but revival efforts failed. The toddler was pronounced dead at the scene.

When investigators examined the child, they noted extensive injuries, including bruising to her head and neck, reddish-purple marks on her cheek, ankle, and arm, and a large subdural hemorrhage consistent with trauma. An autopsy confirmed scattered bruising and a significant brain bleed, indicating severe blunt force injury.

The little girl had been born in 2024 with drugs in her system. She was immediately placed into state custody by the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) under a plan of safe care through the state’s Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. She and her 7-year-old brother were removed from Chavez and their father, Greg Montoya, after the couple failed to participate in the court-ordered plan.

For more than a year, the children lived away from their parents, with the toddler placed with a relative. But on June 18, 2025, during a court hearing, attorneys for Chavez and Montoya moved to dismiss the abuse and neglect case, citing their compliance with reunification requirements. With no objections from the Guardian ad litem, CYFD representatives, social workers, or the presiding judge, the motion was granted. The order was signed on July 21, and the children returned to their parents in late July.

Less than two weeks later, the toddler was dead.

Initially, Chavez and Montoya gave police varying explanations that the child had fallen from her bed, tripped while learning to walk, or possibly choked in her sleep. Montoya said the girl had been fussy since returning home and seemed to prefer his attention over Chavez’s, which “hurt Vanessa’s feelings.”

It was the couple’s 7-year-old son who ultimately provided the account that led to Chavez’s arrest. At first hesitant to speak, the boy told detectives his mother was “bad to his sister” and that he had seen her “beating her up.” He described watching Chavez slam the toddler into a wall, after which she became unresponsive. He said he “hoped she would come alive.”

CYFD has since removed the 7-year-old from the home, confirming he is safe. In a statement, the agency called the child’s death “a tragedy of immeasurable proportions” and extended condolences to the family. Officials said the outcome “could not have been predicted” based on the information before the court during the reunification proceedings.

Chavez is being held at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center ahead of her August 12 court hearing. Prosecutors are seeking pretrial detention, describing the killing as “the most violent and egregious act a parent can commit against a child.”