VIDEO: Man and mistress charged after alleged abortion, backyard burial in San Juan

SAN JUAN — Ruby Lee Medina’s mother said she already named her unborn grandson, who was due in March 2010.

Instead, baby Noel was born last week during an apparent backroom abortion. The incident was punctuated by the unborn child's father allegedly burying the fetus wrapped in a Christmas gift box in the back yard.

“I don’t understand what happened,” said Marina Perez, the 49-year-old mother of Medina.

Medina and Javier Gonzalez, her married boyfriend, turned themselves in Monday afternoon at the San Juan Police Department. The parents are accused of inducing an abortion, wrapping the fetus up as a Christmas present and burying it in the yard at her residence on the 1200 block of East Sioux Road.

Those alleged acts translate into abuse of a corpse and evidence tampering charges the couple faced at an arraignment Monday afternoon.

San Juan police made the tragic discovery Thursday morning, but waited to formally charge the pair until Monday, so Medina could recover at an area hospital from the suspected self-induced abortion, Police Chief Juan Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez, 37, had two other children with Medina, even though he remains married to another woman.

The married man and his mistress could eventually face capital murder charges pending autopsy results or an Hidalgo County grand jury’s decision after prosecutors present them the case, Chief Gonzalez said.

Medina, 31, delivered the fetus last week after she apparently took pills typically given during abortions, Perez said, adding that she did not know the drug’s name. Perez said her daughter told her she took the drugs brought over by friends from Reynosa to treat heartburn.

Instead, the pills apparently induced labor, with Medina delivering the fetus while sitting on the toilet in her bathroom, said Perez, who lives in San Antonio.

“Javier said it was OK,” Perez recalled her daughter telling her of the abortion when she arrived in San Juan last week.

The male fetus was cremated at an area morgue early Monday afternoon, Perez said.

Police continue to investigate the case and the possibility that another fetus delivered by Medina during a similar incident may be buried at an area cemetery, Chief Gonzalez said. In addition to the abortion drugs, police suspect Medina had taken cocaine during the forced labor, the chief said.

“Information has surfaced to that fact that she might have consumed some type of controlled substance,” he said.

San Juan Municipal Judge Eloy Hernandez set each parent’s bond at $20,000 for the abuse of a corpse and evidence tampering charges.

A representative of Mission lawyer Ricardo Salinas declined to comment after accompanying Gonzalez during his arraignment. Medina opted for a court-appointed attorney, telling the judge that as a homemaker, she could not afford to hire her own.

Abuse of a corpse is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in a county jail and up to a $4,000 fine upon conviction. Evidence tampering is a second degree felony that carries a maximum 20 year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine upon conviction.

Should the corpse abuse charge be upgraded to capital murder, Medina and Gonzalez could face the death penalty, if convicted. Medina told investigators the fetus was not breathing after she gave birth.

“The autopsy report will indicate what type of investigation we have and where we take it from there and if there’s any additional charges to file,” Chief Gonzalez said.

Fetal homicide laws vary from state to state.

Texas is at least one of 19 states with fetal homicide laws that consider unborn children as human beings — from fertilization until birth.

Perez arrived at the San Juan Police Department and left before her daughter’s arraignment Monday afternoon. She returned several minutes later, saying she could not let her daughter face the criminal charges alone.

Child Protective Services appointed Perez to watch after her four grandchildren as Medina battles her criminal charges.

During the arraignment, Perez sat in silence and watched her daughter fight back tears as she stood handcuffed as the judge read her charges.

Perez said she remains in disbelief at the whole situation.

“I don’t think I am strong enough for this,” Perez said.

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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.