Mother arrested, charged in infant’s death

LOS LUNAS, N.M. – A woman in Valencia County has been arrested and charged with murder, accused of killing her one-month-old son.

Valencia County deputies were called to the 10th block of Clear View Driver Monday morning.

Upon arrival, deputies found a 1-month-old boy who had signs of blunt force trauma and was unresponsive. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators said the boy’s mother called 911 just after 8 a.m. Monday morning. The mother, 30-year-old Kiria Lynn Milton, was taken in for questioning and has now been charged.

Authorities also said they contacted the children’s father, who was out of state on a business trip. KOB 4 has learned deputies were called to the home just one week ago.

"The mother of the home called 911 stating that she feared for her children’s safety, that she may hurt them," said Lt. Joseph Rowland with the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office. "So deputies were dispatched out here, made contact with her. We contact medical services who came out. We contacted the Children, Youth and Families Division, CYFD, who came out to make an assessment. The mother was transported to UNM for evaluation. Custody of the children were turned over to the father who worked out of state, he came home to custody of the children."

At this point, it’s unclear why the children were allowed back in the mother’s custody. A CYFD spokesperson said the sheriff’s office didn’t request that the agency take custody of the children, and CYFD can’t take emergency custody unless a law enforcement agency requests it. According to CYFD’s spokesperson, it was the sheriff’s office that made the decision to give custody of the children to the father.

Meanwhile, neighbors were also wondering how something like this could happen.

"It’s kind of hard to hear something like that around here," said Charlie Montano, a neighbor. "I mean, it’s been happening all over the place, but it’s kind of hard when it comes around your area. The neighbors are very nice here, we all know each other here, so it’s pretty good."

Deputies also said a 4-year-old boy was taken to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque to be checked for precautionary evaluation. The 4-year-old has been released from the hospital and is now in CYFD’s care as the investigation continues.

Charlie Moore-Pabst, CYFD spokesperson, provided the following statement to KOB 4:

"It is with great sadness that we have been informed of the loss of life of a one-month-old infant. The Children, Youth and Families Department will proceed to protect the surviving sibling and support law enforcement’s investigation of the matter. We will continue to be diligent in our work to support surviving victims and protect vulnerable children and families."