AUSTIN, Texas (KWTX) – Jacqueline Mendoza-Ramirez, 21, of Austin, is charged with capital murder in the death of her 6-week-old infant son.

On Nov. 27, Austin police say officers responded to the Dell Children’s Medical Center, located at 4900 Mueller Boulevard, for a dead person call.

The parents of a 6-week-old infant had taken their baby to the hospital as he was not breathing, police say.

Hospital staff attempted life-saving measures on the infant but were unsuccessful, and the infant was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to police.

Additional authorities responded to process the scene, and their initial investigation showed the infant had several trauma injuries on his body, police say.

Police say CPS was notified and the parents of the infant were interviewed.

On Dec. 18, an arrest warrant for capital murder was issued for Mendoza-Ramirez in the death of the infant. She was arrested the same day, according to police.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call Austin police at 512-974-8477.

Copyright 2024 KWTX. All rights reserved.

What’s New

Joe Rogan’s Texas home has dropped a whopping 20 percent in value as the Austin housing market experiences a rapid downturn.

Rogan originally purchased the home for $14.4 million in 2020, right when Austin was gaining ground as one of the top pandemic era housing markets.

Why It Matters

Many Americans fled to Austin from high-cost areas in New York and California while looking for lower home prices and cost of living. And in the age of remote work and coronavirus shutdowns, many also moved to be in a place with Texas’ minimal social distancing restrictions.

What To Know

Rogan originally moved from California to the Austin property in 2020 after securing a $100 million deal with Spotify.

But now, just four years later, Redfin values the home at just $10.8 million.

Rogan’s home has eight bedrooms and nearly 11,000 square feet. It also boasts a lakeside view, but even the most luxurious estates aren’t immune from Austin’s real estate market changes.

In November, data showed Austin home listings were over 10,000, compared to just 7,000 during the pandemic.

Texas has long been on a population upswing, growing by more than 9 million residents between 2000 and 2022. And the pandemic saw an even larger boost in new people seeking out the state’s job market, warm weather and cheap cost of living.

In 2022 alone, the Lone Star State’s population climbed by 470,708 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Initially, when so many people moved in the pandemic, house prices skyrocketed upwards, as the market was not able to keep up with the surge in demand.

To fix that, Texas home suppliers quickly ramped up construction, but now the housing market is experiencing the opposite problem—too much supply and too little demand, causing prices to trend down.

Still, Austin’s home prices are up 6.8 percent year over year, according to Redfin. That brought a median sale price of $550,000 in November.

What People Are Saying

Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek:

“Austin was one of the hottest real estate markets in the country before the pandemic, and relocating during that stretch of time only increased demand in a city that had fewer statewide health-related restrictions than its contemporaries did. With the pandemic over and remote work becoming for many jobs a thing of the past, there’s less demand, which is incredibly problematic for a city that had been ramping up in creating more housing units to meet a surging market.”

“Texas housing supply has spiked to [its] highest level since at least 2017,” Nick Gerli, CEO of real estate data platform Reventure App, wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Active listings are up 25 percent YoY, and a massive 263 percent from the pandemic low. Texas is no longer in an inventory shortage. And is now oversupplied.”

“2020-21 was near the peak of the real estate market in many parts of the country,” title and escrow expert Alan Chang told Newsweek. “During this time, there was so much competition for desirable properties that valuations were increasing at an unsustainable rate. It’s normal for many markets to see some leveling or more substantial corrections after that historic time period.”

“Rising interest rates are the main culprit behind lower housing values,” Kevin Thompson, a finance expert and the founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek. “Housing prices surged after the pandemic as inflation rose, creating a disconnect between prices and underlying fundamentals. Now, prices are correcting downward, moving back toward equilibrium.”

What’s Next

As Austin sees a surge in new homes becoming available, there will inevitably be less demand in the once thriving housing market.

“It’s a difficult spot to be in, and even homes owned by some of Austin’s wealthiest residents are finding their property down substantially in value from where it was a few short years ago,” Beene said.

Chang said 2025 will likely bring more price correction in the Austin market after the rapid increase seen in the last few years.

“Real estate should be a long-term investment and not a short-term roller coaster that we experienced in the recent past,” Chang said.

Balenciaga has joined the retail fray in Austin.

On Wednesday, the luxury house opened its first freestanding store in the city’s mixed-use metropolitan center, The Domain.

The 6,137-square-foot space offers men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, shoes, bags, accessories, eyewear and jewelry.

Like the last several stores the company has opened, the Austin unit features the brand’s experiential Raw Architecture concept, which is intended to be reminiscent of construction sites and abandoned spaces. It is built using existing elements, resulting in fewer raw materials, a move that keeps with Balenciaga’s commitment to sustainability.

But in a nod to its location, the store’s street-corner facade, composed of glass, porcelain and quartz, is intended to speak to its Southwestern home. Inside, the sand and stone that is found in the Austin area is referenced in the gray tones that mark the surfaces in the store. Brushed slab and poured concrete are embedded with carpet in places, while intentionally left bare in others. Walls and partitions are covered in patinated concrete panels, hot rolled steel showing flame licks, or smoked glass.

An open ceiling shows ceiling grids, lighting systems, and other technical fixtures overhead while aged steel tables and hanging pipe racks are used to simulate an industrial space.

There are also high-definition screens, focused lighting, leather seating and a street-facing lightbox.

Last week, Balenciaga opened a 10,000-square-foot store in Shanghai’s HKRI Taikoo Hui shopping mall, its largest in China, where it operates 54 stores.

In the U.S., the company opened a U.S. flagship on Greene Street in SoHo in early September.

In Austin, Balenciaga joins Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Versace, The Webster and Tiffany in the Domain.