LUBBOCK, Texas – A Texas man has been charged with the murder of an infant who he left in a backpack in his vehicle while he worked, according to the Lubbock Police Department.
Police say 27-year-old Trevor Marquis Rowe was arrested at about 1 a.m. Wednesday in connection with the death of 10-month-old Marion Jester-Montoya.
Officers began investigating the case when they responded to a report of a child not breathing at about 5 p.m. on Tuesday. When they arrived, police say Marion was found not breathing. She was transported to an area hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.
A special crimes unit was called to the scene and their initial investigation indicates that Rowe picked up Marion from the home he shared with the victim’s mother and took her to work with him.
Once at work, police say Rowe put the baby in his backpack and placed her in the front passenger floorboard of his car, where he allegedly left her for several hours, checking on her periodically.
After his lunch break, police say Rowe moved Marion through the backseat pass through to the trunk and several hours later, he checked on the child and found she was not breathing. That’s when Rowe called 911 and drove to the intersection of 130th and Upland Avenue, where he started CPR and waited for EMS.
Rowe was later booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on a warrant for capital murder. His bond is set at $2 million.
KCBD reports that Rowe is not the baby’s father. The baby’s father, Emilio Montoya, told the TV station that Marion had been learning to walk. Her grandmother, Sheilah Montoya, said the family was planning the girl’s first birthday and a trip to Disney World.
A cause of death for the infant has not yet been announced.
