Father charged in death of 5-month-old daughter

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — 24-year-old Adam Garcia was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center Wednesday evening and charged with child abuse resulting in death.

The victim was Adam’s five-month-old daughter, Trinity Garcia.

According to the criminal complaint, the baby’s mother took her to UNM Hospital on Feb. 13 with a brain bleed, breathing issues, bruising on her face and an abnormal hard spot on her head.

The mother told an officer that Adam had been staying with the family, but she never allowed him to be alone with her children, after an incident where he used one of the kids to shield himself from police.

In the complaint, Adam suggested that one of Trinity’s two siblings, a four-year-old and a two-year-old, may have caused the injuries. Police got a call from CYFD just two days later that Trinity was unlikely to survive her injuries.

The next month, officers found text messages that Trinity’s mother sent to Adam:

“You killed my daughter. I have to take her off life support this week.”

“I’ll never forgive you for this.”

“You’re in for a rude awakening, good luck tomorrow.”

Five days later, on March 16, Trinity passed away. Her cause of death in the autopsy report was blunt head trauma – a homicide.

Adam was arrested more than six months later.

The state said Adam should stay behind bars ahead of trial, arguing he’s a danger to the community. The pretrial detention motion states, in part, “He killed his own baby daughter. It is clear that he has no regard for the safety of others.”

The case will be moved to district court. From there, a judge will decide whether or not Adam is released before trial. The hearing is expected to happen in the next few days.