Teen mother arrested in Wasatch County for murder of newborn son

I-80 Westbound at Parleys Summit, milepost 138.9. Photo: UDOT Traffic Cam

WASATCH COUNTY, Utah — An 18-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday after authorities allege she killed her medically fragile son and left his body in Parleys Canyon.

On Sept. 23 Estrella Meza-Ojeda was charged with aggravated murder, obstructing justice and abuse or desecration of a human body.

According to a report from Fox13, Meza-Ojeda gave brith to a premature baby boy on Aug. 6 The boy spent 22 days in the NICU before Meza-Ojeda brought him home to her Wasatch County apartment, where she lived with a roommate.

The boy needed supplemental oxygen to survive. Meza-Ojeda’s roommate reported to authorities that the boy was not on oxygen as of Sept. 10, and that she had not seen Mesa-Ojeda or the baby since Sept. 11.

Last Tuesday authorities found Meza-Ojeda at her boyfriend’s home in Kamas. She admitted that the boy was no longer alive and showed authorities to I-80 Exit 131 in Parleys Canyon where she claimed to have left his body. A piece of cloth was discovered on the ground, but the boy’s body was not recovered. The search is still ongoing.

Meza-Ojeda remains in the Wasatch County Jail and is scheduled to appear at the Wasatch County Courthouse on Oct. 4.

The Wastach County Attorney’s office and Heber City Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for information.