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That old saw about divorce being hardest on the kids almost turned fatal in the case of Nyesha Hall-Gonzalez, 28.
She’s accused of burying a Carmelo Ortiz-Hall, her two-year-old son, under tumbleweeds and leaving him to die in an El Paso County field because of her desire to kill herself — and her belief that no one would want him if she followed through with this act.
As reported by the 7News, Hall-Gonzalez was in the midst of a divorce from Carmelo Ortiz-Aponte, with whom she had two children — Carmelo, her husband’s namesake, and an infant. Last Friday, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Colorado Springs Gazette, Hall-Gonzalez told a friend that she wanted to commit suicide and take the younger Carmelo with her, because “no one would want him after she killed herself.”
Shy of 8 a.m. the following morning, at a time when Ortiz-Aponte had their baby with him, Hall-Gonzalez was spotted by a state trooper carrying a toddler in her arms along a patch of Interstate 25 near Pueblo County. No action was taken at that time, but a few hours later, a 911 caller reported seeing a woman wearing a nightgown and wandering near a white SUV. Officers soon found her, barefoot, scratched and uncommunicative.
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Because of the earlier sighting, and the fact that no children were present even though the vehicle contained items associated with kids, a frantic search was initiated — and it went on for hours. Finally, at about 1 p.m., a police dog led El Paso County sheriff’s deputies to little Carmelo. He had been buried under about four feet of tumbleweeds clad in a diaper and swaddled in Hall-Gonzalez’s dress and coat.
The younger Carmelo was found to be in surprisingly good condition considering his ordeal. Meanwhile, Hall-Gonzalez was arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, among other charges.
Look below to see a larger version of Hall-Gonzalez’s mug shot.
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More from our Follow That Story archive: “Stephanie Rochester judged insane when she killed her son, found not guilty.”
