ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — There are more questions after a 4-month-old baby died last week. Both parents are charged with child abuse resulting in death.

Through court documents, KOB 4 knows the Children, Youth and Families Department had the child on its radar. 

“A child fell through the cracks. A child on our radar that we knew about that we let go home to a meth house,” said Maralyn Beck, founder and executive director of the New Mexico Child First Network.

The New Mexico Child First Network says this case had so many red flags that the department should have never let the child go home, let alone stay in that home.

“It’s a moral failure of letting these kids leave a hospital to a known drug house,” Beck said.

Beck has more questions than answers.

“Why was this child released from the hospital? Why was there a safety plan? Is this a safe place for a newborn to be?” she said.

The questions come after investigators said a 4-month-old baby died June 5 in a northeast Albuquerque home.

“This was preventable. We failed the child who is dead,” Beck said.

The parents, Victor Gonzales and Gabriella Muniz, say they were co-sleeping with child for about two hours and when they woke up the baby was unresponsive.

Muniz told detectives she saw Gonzales’ arm on top of the baby. Through interviews, detectives found out the child was born exposed to fentanyl and meth.

Gonzales told police both he and Muniz used narcotics about once a day in the bathroom but said the drug use wasn’t near the baby.

According to a CYFD report detectives referenced in the criminal complaint, Muniz did drugs the day before the baby was born.

“If you are doing fentanyl and meth on a daily basis in the home and acknowledging it, your child is not safe. This child should never have been sent home from the hospital,” Beck said.

Court documents revealed CYFD had placed the child on a safety plan, but Beck argues those plans aren’t effective.

“Safety plans are voluntary. They are not court monitored, and they are not safe,” she said.

Gonzales and Muniz told detectives the child’s grandmother was chosen as safety monitor and had to check on the child three times a day and take the child if the parents were under the influence.

“If you are checking on someone three times a day, you are knowingly, you are confident they are not safe,” Beck said.

Beck said this case had red flag after red flag.

“There were red flags before this child was ever brought into this world. This is a calamity of failure, and I hope people wake up,” she said.

The CYFD referral also mentioned that after the child was born, Muniz allegedly left the hospital and only “returned to retrieve her belongings and saw the baby but did not care” for the baby.

Just two days before the child died, a welfare check was requested after CYFD didn’t have contact with the family and child.

“The welfare check was set by CYFD worker, but no contact was made with the baby or the family, and we just walked away, and two days later, that child is dead,” Beck said.

Beck argues cases like these don’t just impact the child, but the parents too. She said this death was completely preventable.

“Countless children have died,” Beck continued. “Whoever signed the safety agreement to let this child home? I’m very sad for… I’m sad for everyone, because this could have been avoided. I don’t know what will change this department. How many millions of dollars it takes, because it’s not dead babies. Dead babies is not fixing this department.

Muniz and Gonzales are set to go before judges Tuesday to find out if they’ll remain behind bars until trial. This past weekend, Muniz went before a judge for her first appearance in court. Gonzales refused to show up to his hearing.

KOB 4 reached out to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office for comment. Deputy Communications Director Jodi McGinnis Porter sent the following statement:

“The death of any infant is an unimaginable tragedy that touches our entire community. Our hearts go out to all those affected by this heartbreaking loss. Every child deserves to be safe, protected, and loved. 

While we understand the public’s desire for information, this ongoing investigation requires that we allow law enforcement and child protective services to conduct their work thoroughly so that justice can be served.”