New Mexico
New Mexico mother accused of allowing her 5-year-old son to slowly starve to death
In the years prior to the boy’s death, state investigators with the Children, Youth, and Families Department had responded to at least four reports of neglect involving the child.
A New Mexico mother has been arrested after authorities say she is suspected of allowing her 5-year-old son to slowly die by starvation.
Marecella Vasquez Montelongo, 23, was arrested in late February months after her son, who had Cerebral Palsy and other disabilities, was found in July unconscious and not breathing at her Albuquerque home. The boy was pronounced dead and an autopsy later determined that he died of starvation and dehydration due to neglect, according to a criminal complaint provided to USA TODAY.
In the years prior to the boy’s death, state investigators with the Children, Youth, and Families Department had responded to at least four reports of neglect involving the child, according to the complaint.
Montelongo had her first court appearance Wednesday in a Bernalillo County court room on a charge of child abuse resulting in death. A judge ruled that Montelongo must remain in custody until the start of her trial and complete an addiction treatment program, according to KOAT-TV, which was the first to report on the case.
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Child appeared to be ‘skin and bones’ at his death
Albuquerque police were dispatched to Montelongo’s home on July 16 after receiving a report of the unresponsive child. While paramedics attempted life-saving measures, the boy was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the complaint, dated Feb. 26.
Montelongo told police at the scene that she had fed her son but that he had vomited. Shortly after, she noticed he was not breathing and called 911, the complaint states.
At the time of his death, the boy appeared as “skin and bones,” with his hip bones clearly defined and open ulcers on his tailbone, according to the complaint. When medical examiners conducted a preliminary autopsy, they discovered that the boy had dropped to a weight of about 13.6 pounds.
The final autopsy, which was completed in October, concluded that Montelongo’s son had died from starvation and dehydration, and ruled that the manner of death was a homicide.
‘Red flags’ surfaced before boy’s July death
The boy was nonverbal, blind, used a wheelchair and required round-the-clock care, according to investigators. Montelongo was required to give her son medication three times a day through a gastrostomy tube, otherwise known as a G-tube.
However, Montelongo routinely missed her son’s doctor’s appointments, including five since December 2022. While she noticed her son was losing weight, she told investigators that she did not think it was a concern, the complaint states.
Since the boy’s birth, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department received four reports of medical neglect, including one report that was substantiated, according to the complaint.
Though the child was enrolled at he New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, records provided to investigators showed that he only reported for on day of school in September 2022 and never showed up again.
“This defendant made efforts to hide the abuse and this child’s demise from medical advisors and the school,” Bernalillo County Judge David Murphy said at Montelongo’s hearing, according to video aired by KOAT-TV.
Some advocates went so far as to question how Montelongo was able to retain custody of her son following the series of red flags.
“We had medical providers, educational providers, service providers and family members raising flags,” Maralyn Beck, founder and executive director of the nonprofit New Mexico Child Network told KOAT-TV. “Yet here we are.”
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Tanya Tucker will perform at the 2026 New Mexico State Fair, officials announced Tuesday.
Tucker will take to the stage Friday, Sept. 18, after the Chevron PRCA rodeo. The Grammy Award-winning icon has racked up 10 No. 1 country hits since her first hit, “Delta Dawn,” at age 13.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to bring the legendary Tanya Tucker to the New Mexico State Fair,” said Dan Mourning, general manager of the New Mexico State Fair. “Tanya is one of the greatest icons in country music history and is the perfect fit for the Fair.”
Tucker has 23 Top-40 albums and 56 Top 40 singles on the Billboard country music charts. She has won two Country Music Association awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, three CMT Awards and two Grammys for Best Country Album and Best Country Song.
Tickets are set to go on sale on Friday at 10 a.m.
Here is the full 2026 New Mexico State Fair rodeo-concert lineup:
Friday, Sept. 11
Turnpike Troubadours with Chevron PRCA Xtreme Bulls
Saturday, Sept. 12
Ian Munsick with Chevron PRCA Xtreme Bulls
Wednesday, Sept. 16
Chevron PRCA Standalone Rodeo
Thursday, Sept. 17
Everclear with Chevron PRCA Rodeo
Friday, Sept. 18
Tanya Tucker with Chevron PRCA Rodeo
Saturday, Sept. 19
The Warning with Chevron PRCA Rodeo
Sunday, Sept. 20
Chevron PRCA Rodeo – Matinee
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State investigators began searching a secluded ranch in New Mexico on Monday where financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein once entertained guests amid allegations that the property may have been used for sexual abuse and sex trafficking of young women.
The office of state Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced that the search was being done with the cooperation of the current ranch owners.
Torrez last month reopened an investigation of the ranch. New Mexico’s initial case was closed in 2019 at the request of federal prosecutors in New York, and state prosecutors say now that “revelations outlined in the previously sealed FBI files warrant further examination.”
Epstein purchased the sprawling Zorro Ranch in Stanley, New Mexico, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Santa Fe, in 1993 from former Democratic Gov. Bruce King and built a hilltop mansion with a private runway.
The property was sold by Epstein’s estate in 2023 — with proceeds going toward creditors — to the family of Don Huffines, a candidate in Texas for state comptroller who won the Republican primary last week.
“The New Mexico Department of Justice appreciates the cooperation of the current property owners,” the agency said in a statement. Prosecutors “will continue to keep the public appropriately informed, support the survivors, and follow the facts wherever they lead.”
Additionally, New Mexico state legislators have established a new commission to look into past activities at the ranch.
Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial in 2019 on charges that he sexually abused and trafficked dozens of underage girls.
Epstein never faced charges in New Mexico, but the state attorney general’s office in 2019 confirmed that it had interviewed possible victims who visited Epstein’s ranch.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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