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Post update: Police have identified the 14-year-old girl after issuing an amber alert. This article has been updated to include her name and picture.
Monterey County authorities are searching for a 14-year-old girl wanted on suspicion of murder in the death of her newborn, and for the girl’s father, who they say is both the baby’s father and the man hiding his daughter from police.
Getting into it: First responders were called to the 100 block of Struve Road in north Monterey County on the morning of Aug. 1 after a report of a newborn found alongside the road near Moss Landing. The infant, whom investigators are calling “Baby Angelita,” was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives concluded a juvenile gave birth along the road and left the baby on the ground. A postmortem examination found signs of traumatic injury, though officials have not publicly described those injuries, citing the open investigation. They have also not said how the infant died or how long she survived.
Sheriff Tina Nieto said investigators confirmed that 38-year-old Sergio Galvez Perez is the biological father of both the 14-year-old and the dead infant, and that he sexually abused his daughter over a period of years. He is wanted on suspicion of incest, lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, lewd acts with a minor, unlawful sexual intercourse, child endangerment and child concealment. Investigators say he is actively concealing the girl from law enforcement. The girl’s mother, 36-year-old Ofelia Garcia Ortega of the Castroville and Salinas area, was arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment, posted bail and was released.
Nieto was careful about how she described the teenager, who is the subject of an arrest warrant for murder. “She’s also a victim because of the sexual abuse by her own father,” Nieto said, asking the girl to make contact with authorities somewhere she would be safe.
She also spoke directly to Perez. “You need to turn yourself in to the Monterey County detectives or to a police officer, because really at the center of this is two children,” Nieto said. “Baby Angelita who lost her life, and a 14-year-old child who is now the subject of serious allegations of involving the death of the baby.” Officials released photos of Perez, who has performed with a musical group, and told anyone who spots him to call 911 rather than approach him.
The investigation started with almost nothing. Nieto said detectives had no suspect and no name to work with. What broke it open was Flock, the automated license plate reader network, which helped investigators identify a vehicle of interest, a beige 2010 Mercury Milan sedan, within 53 hours.
The sheriff’s public credit to Flock lands in the middle of an ongoing fight over the technology. Civil liberties groups have objected to the scale of the tracking and to how long the system holds records on people who have not been accused of anything.
