NEVEAH GALLEGOS - 3 yo (2007) - Denver CO

The man indicted in the death of a 3-year-old girl in the will be in court Monday on a separate charge.
Angel Ray Montoya has a trial set for 9 a.m. Monday on charges of failure to
register. Montoya, a sex offender, was arrested for failing to
register.
In additional to his failure to register charge, Montoya was
indicted in May 2008 in the death of a 3-year-old Nevaeh Gallegos.
Nevaeh's mother, Miriam Gallegos, was also indicted. She is Montoya's
girlfriend.
Montoya was indicted on charges of first-degree murder and child
abuse resulting in death, while Gallegos was indicted on charges of
child abuse resulting in death and accessory to a crime.
They were first arrested in September 2007 after Neveah's body was
found in a ravine. Denver Police say Miriam Gallegos falsely reported
that Neveah had been kidnapped.
Police say in September 2007, Montoya called Gallegos while she was
at work, asking her to come home. When she got there, her daughter was
not breathing, police say. Instead of calling an ambulance, police say
Gallegos and Montoya put the girl in a plastic bag and Montoya disposed
of the body. Police asked residents to participate in the search for
the missing girl by looking in their trash bins. After almost three
full days of searching, Nevaeh's body was found.
Prosecutors initially had to release Miriam Gallegos and Montoya
because they did not have enough evidence to charge them in the case.
"It took this much time to get this case in a posture where we could
present this case to the grand jury and for the grand jury to do the
work that it's done in order to be here today," Morrissey said. "Today
is a good day for us. We understand that there are many more days to
come on this case."
Morrissey says part of the difficulty in charging Montoya and Miriam
Gallegos initially had been the coroner's findings on the toddler's
cause of death. The official report listed Naveah's cause of death as
"undetermined." After getting a second opinion, Morrissey says it was
determined Naveah died of asphyxiation.
Morrissey says he doesn't think the two reports contradict one
another, but instead support each other's findings. Miriam Gallegos was
arrested on Wednesday after the grand jury returned the indictment.
Montoya was already in custody for failing to register as a sex
offender. In 2005, Montoya was sentenced to 18 months probation for
abusing a 5-year-old boy.

A mother and her boyfriend accused of causing the death of
3-year-old Neveah Gallegos were in court Friday where they each pleaded
not guilty to the charges against them.
Angel Ray Montoya faces the most serious charges, first-degree murder and
child abuse resulting in death. Police believe he killed the toddler
while her mother, Miriam Gallegos, was at work in 2007.
Miriam Gallegos, Montoya's girlfriend, faces charges of child abuse resulting in death and accessory to a crime.
They were first arrested in September 2007, after Neveah's body was
found in a ravine. Denver Police say Miriam Gallegos falsely reported
that Neveah had been kidnapped.
Police say in September 2007, Montoya called Miriam Gallegos while
she was at work, asking her to come home. When she got there, her
daughter was not breathing, police say. Instead of calling an
ambulance, police say Miriam Gallegos and Montoya put the girl in a
plastic bag and Montoya disposed of the body.
Police asked residents to participate in the search for the missing
girl by looking in their trash bins. After almost three full days of
searching, Nevaeh's body was found.
Prosecutors initially had to release Miriam Gallegos and Montoya
because they did not have enough evidence to charge them in the case.
In May 2008, both were indicted.
Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey previously said part of the
difficulty in charging Montoya and Miriam Gallegos initially had been
the coroner's findings on the toddler's cause of death. The official
report listed Naveah's cause of death as "undetermined." After getting
a second opinion, Morrissey says it was determined Naveah died of
asphyxiation.
Montoya also faces separate charges for failing to register as a sex
offender. That case has been continued to 2010 because of the
outstanding murder charge. In 2005, Montoya was sentenced to 18 months
probation for abusing a 5-year-old boy.
Montoya and Miriam Gallegos will both be back in court in February for the Neveah case.

The mother of a 3-year-old girl whose body was
found in a trash bag dumped in a ravine pleaded guilty Friday to child
abuse and has agreed to testify against her former boyfriend.Miriam
Gallegos made her admission in the 2007 death of Neveah Gallegos.The
mother had initially claimed her daughter had been kidnapped. However,
when questioned about it, she broke down and admitted to police that her
3-year-old was dead and stuffed in two plastic bags, according to
arrest affidavits.



She implicated Angel Ray Montoya, her then boyfriend. Montoya is charged
with first-degree murder and child abuse result in the Sept. 21, 2007
death in the same case.Neveah's body was found in a wooded ravine
at 11th Avenue and Perry Street, three days after she was reported
missing.Gallegos later told police that Montoya said he was
giving the girl a bath when she went into convulsions and died. Instead
of calling an ambulance or police, they both decided to place the girl
in a white plastic trash bag, cover that with another black plastic bag
and placed that bag in a royal blue duffel bag with yellow handles,
according to the arrest affidavits.Then Gallegos said they both
went to an alley behind their apartment and she and Montoya went in
separate directions, according to the affidavit. She told officers that
the last she saw of Montoya, he was carrying the duffel bag with
Neveah's body inside, and walking northbound.The child's body was
found four miles west of the couple's apartment on 13th Avenue and
Logan Street.After Gallegos' guilty plea, she faces four to 16
years in prison, when she is sentenced in September.Montoya is a
registered sex offender and has been convicted of child abuse and
indecent exposure to minors and adults. He has also been arrested on
charges of kidnapping, according to police records.Gallegos also
has a criminal history. In 2006, she was accused of possession of
marijuana and found guilty of possessing drug paraphernalia.

The mother of a 3-year-old Denver girl whose body was found in a trash
bag, pleaded guilty to her role in the child's death Friday afternoon.
As part of the
plea agreement, Miriam Gallegos will testify against her boyfriend who
is also facing charges in Neveah Gallegos' death.
Gallegos pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death. A medical
expert determined the child died of asphyxiation. She will be sentenced
in September.
Gallegos' boyfriend, Angel Ray Montoya, was indicted on one count of
first degree murder and child abuse resulting in death in the Sept. 21,
2007, death of Neveah.
Neveah, dressed in red sweat pants, a red shirt with a cartoon character
on it and pink tennis shows, was found in a white plastic trash bag
under a tree stump in a ravine, three days after she was reported
missing. She was found about 2 miles from the couple's apartment.
The indictment said Gallegos left Neveah home alone with Montoya, a
registered sex offender, while she went to work. Gallegos told
investigators that Montoya called her at work, and when she got home,
Neveah was dead.
The indictment alleges the couple then decided to stuff Neveah's body in
a trash bag, place her in a duffel bag and have Montoya dispose of the
body while Gallegos contacted police to report her daughter had been
kidnapped.
Gallegos did contact police. But investigators questioned her, and she
ended up telling them that Montoya said Neveah could not breathe,
started panting and collapsed after having a bath, the indictment said.

A 23-year-old Denver mother was sentenced to 16 years in prison Thursday in the 2007 death of her 3-year-old daughter.The
chain of events began when Miriam Gallegos told police she was holding
her daughter, Neveah, while walking down a Denver alley on Sept. 21,
2007. She said two men drove up, grabbed the girl from her and drove
off.Police immediately issued an Amber Alert for Neveah but
canceled it later that day and announced the mother's kidnapping report
was not credible. The announcement was made after investigators found a
paper towel with what appeared to be blood on it in the Gallegos
apartment.
Police then began investigating both Gallegos and her boyfriend, 25-year-old Angel Ray Montoya.Gallegos
then told police that Montoya was giving the girl a bath when Neveah
went into convulsions and died. Instead of calling an ambulance or
police, they both decided to place the girl in a white plastic trash
bag, cover that with a black plastic bag and place that bag in a royal
blue duffel bag with yellow handles, according to the arrest affidavits.Then
Gallegos said they both went to an alley behind their apartment and she
and Montoya went in separate directions, according to the affidavit.
She told officers that the last she saw of Montoya, he was carrying the
duffel bag with Neveah's body inside and walking north.Neveah's
body was found in a white plastic trash bag Sept. 24, 2007, in a ravine
at Eleventh Avenue and Perry Street, four miles from where she lived.The Denver medical examiner later determined that Neveah died of asphyxiation.On
April 22, 2009, Montoya and Miriam Gallegos were indicted for Neveah's
death. Montoya was indicted for child abuse resulting in death and
being an accessory to a crime.Denver Chief Deputy District
Attorney Michelle Amico had argued for the maximum sentence of 16 years,
saying it was clear that Gallegos had shirked her responsibility as a
mother, which led directly to the death of her daughter.Gallegos has agreed to testify against her former boyfriend when Montoya's case goes to trial on Feb. 10.

DENVER -- A judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the case of a man accused
of murdering his girlfriend's three-year-old daughter.

Angel Montoya, faces charges of first degree murder and child abuse
resulting in death in the 2007 slaying of Neveah Gallegos whose body was
found hidden in a trash bag that was placed inside a duffel bag and
dumped in a Lakewood ravine.

In January, Miriam Gallegos, her mother, was sentenced to 12
years in prison after pleading guilty to her role in Neveah’s slaying.

Prosecutors said Gallegos ignored red flags against leaving Naveah
with Montoya, who is a registered child sex offender.

The mistrial came after Miriam Gallegos testified that Montoya has a
history as a sex offender. A judge previously ruled that Angel Ray
Montoya's sex offender history could not be brought up at trial.

It was not immediately known when the case will be re-tried.
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-mistrial-declared-in-case-of-murdered-3yearold-girl-20110825,0,488376.story

DENVER - A mistrial was declared Thursday in the case against
Angel Ray Montoya who allegedly helped star-witness Miriam Gallegos
dispose of her 3-year-old daughter, Neveah Gallegos, after he allegedly
killed her.

According to court officials, Miriam Gallegos kept
mentioning a certain aspect of the case that she was told not to
mention. This repeated statement led to the mistrial decision made by
the judge.

The district attorney views this as nothing more than a restart. They have no intention to drop the case against Montoya.

In the next week or so, prosecutors should hold a status conference to figure out when the next trial will start.

Gallegos pleaded guilty in January 2011 and was sentenced to 12 years
- a plea bargain that relied on her testifying against Montoya.

In a statement she made in her sentencing hearing, Gallegos said she
takes full responsibility for her daughter's death and knows she made
poor decisions.

"Nothing will bring her back," she said. "And I will live with this for the rest of my life."

Montoya still faces first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in
death charges after investigators believe he killed the toddler while
Gallegos was at work in 2007.

"Whatever you decide to give me, I will learn, I will embrace
anything I can take from it," Gallegos told the judge. "I want to better
my life."

Both Gallegos and Montoya were first arrested in September 2007,
after Neveah's body was found in a ravine. Denver Police say Miriam
Gallegos falsely reported that Neveah had been kidnapped.

Police say in September 2007, Montoya called Miriam Gallegos while
she was at work, asking her to come home. When she got there, her
daughter was not breathing, police say. Instead of calling an ambulance,
police say Miriam Gallegos and Montoya put the girl in a plastic bag
and Montoya disposed of the body.

Amico said Gallegos chose to lie to protect the man who killed her
little girl. According to prosecutors, Gallegos admitted to detectives
that she helped with the plan and executed the plan to put her
daughter's body in a trash bag and duffle bag.

Amico says Gallegos told police: "'They were going to take him from
me. I had already lost Neveah. I didn't want to lose him too.'"

According to Amico, Gallegos told police the idea for the false kidnapping report was hers.

Gallegos' attorneys admitted she had been warned about Montoya, that
he was abusive and a registered sex offender. Gallegos' defense
attorneys said on Thursday she thought Montoya had been wrongly accused.
They also pointed to her past as a victim of abuse for her bad
decisions.

Police asked residents to participate in the search for the missing
girl by looking in their trash bins. After almost three full days of
searching, Nevaeh's body was found.

Prosecutors initially had to release Miriam Gallegos and Montoya
because they did not have enough evidence to charge them in the case. In
May 2008, both were indicted.

Montoya also faces separate charges for failing to register as a sex
offender. That case has been continued because of the outstanding murder
charge. In 2005, Montoya was sentenced to 18 months probation for
abusing a 5-year-old boy.

http://www.9news.com/news/article/215538/222/Mistrial-declared-in-child-abuse-death-case

DENVER – Prosecutors say Angel Montoya strangled three-year-old
Neveah Gallegos to death, and then devised a plot to conceal her body.

Opening statements began Thursday in the first degree murder trial of
Montoya, 27, who is accused of killing his girlfriend’s daughter in
2007.

According to the Denver District Attorney, Miriam Gallegos left her
daughter in Montoya’s care on Sept. 21, 2007, and then went to work at
her job at Sports Authority.

When she returned to their Capitol Hill apartment later that day, she found her daughter’s body under a blanket.

Montoya, according to prosecutors, kept telling his girlfriend “I
didn’t do it,” but then organized a plan to conceal the crime with
Gallegos’ help.



Gallegos told a stranger that her daughter had been kidnapped. That
stranger –in turn- contacted police, prompting a frantic search.

Meanwhile Montoya, according to prosecutors, placed Neaveh’s body in a blue duffel bag and left the apartment.

Neveah’s body was found three days later under a pile of debris in a west Denver ditch.

Montoya’s public defender contends there is no evidence Montoya
abused the child, and also questions why the Denver medical examiner
could not definitively determine the cause of death.

Miriam Gallegos is serving 12 years in prison after pleading guilty
to negligent child abuse resulting in death. She is expected to testify
against Montoya.

Montoya’s first murder trial ended in a mistrial in 2011.
http://kwgn.com/2012/04/13/murder-trial-begins-for-man-accused-of-killing-3-year-old-4/

The murder trial of Angel Ray Montoya
continued this afternoon with defense attorneys attempting to discredit a
key prosecution witness: The mother of the 3-year-old girl he's accused
of killing.
Prosecutors believe Montoya strangled Neveah Gallegos
to death in 2007 while he was babysitting for his girlfriend Miriam
Gallegos.
Miriam Gallegos lied to police, telling them a
red-haired man kidnapped the toddler to give Montoya time to hide the
body under a pile of trash in a Denver gulch.
Denver Deputy Public
Defender Holly Lucas honed in on the multiple false statements Gallegos
gave to police and the plea bargain she struck with prosecutors in
exchange for her testimony.
"Not one word of anything you said to
police officers was true," Lucas said. "You couldn't even stand the
county jail. It was miserable... You would have done anything to get out
of there."
Instead of up to 48 years in prison for a higher level
felony stemming from her daughter's death, Gallegos pled guilty to
negligent child abuse causing death and was sentenced to 12 years with
the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors say Gallegos at first lied
to authorities because she was afraid of harming her relationship with
Montoya, the one person she thought cared about her.
"He would use
my fears against me. He knew ... I was afraid to be alone," Gallegos
testified. "He knew that and he used it to his advantage."
Gallegos
also testified that while she never saw Montoya strike her daughter, he
did get frustrated when the tot cried or clinged to her.
She said he was less affectionate with Neveah, who called him dada, than he was with his own niece and nephew.
"Sometimes he just pushed her too hard," Gallegos said. "She was still a baby. He expected her to act more mature than she was."


Read more: Prosecution grills mom in murder trial of Neveah Gallegos - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20409900/prosecution-grills-mom-murder-trial-neveah-gallegos#ixzz1sGQdkA00

Man killed his girlfriend's daughter, three, and dumped her body
in a ditch ... and the mother tried to help him get away with it

By Christine Show

PUBLISHED: 20:23 EST, 7 May 2012

UPDATED: 20:23 EST, 7 May 2012

A man was found guilty of gruesomely murdering his girlfriend's
three-year-old daughter and enlisting the mother's help to hide the
child's body.

Angel Montoya, 26, was convicted today in Denver,
Colorado of strangling toddler Neveah Gallegos, stuffing her body in a
bag and dumping her among debris in a ditch.

The child's mother,
Miriam Gallegos, 24, is already serving 12 years in prison for
pretending the girl was kidnapped in an effort to help Montoya get away
with the crime.



Convicted: A Denver, Colorado jury found Angel Montoya, 26, guilty of first-degree
murder for killing his girlfriend's three-year-old daughter

Montoya, who was charged with first-degree murder, faces life in prison.

The tragedy occurred on September 21, 2007 when the mother left her
daughter with Montoya while she worked at a Sports Authority store.

When Miriam Gallegos returned, she found her child's lifeless body under a blanket.

Montoya originally told the mother that he was not responsible, according to prosecutors.

But then the two decided to work together so that Montoya can get rid of the girl.

Gallegos told a stranger that a red-haired man kidnapped her daughter, it was revealed during the trial.



Murdered: Proecutors say Montoya stuffed the remains of Nevaeh Gallegos, 3, in a
duffel bag and dumped her in a ditch full of trash

The story was meant to be a distraction so Montoya could have time to dispose of the girl's remains.

The stranger Gallegos spoke to about the kidnapping reported the situation to police.

A search was launched to find the girl.

Meanwhile, Montoya stuffed the body into a blue duffel bag.

The toddler's remains were found three days later after a major hunt in the
pitch in the western part of the city surrounded by trash.



Plan: The girl's mother, Miriam Gallegos, 24, is serving a 12-year prison
sentence for claiming her baby was kidnapped so Montoya could hide the
body

Her body had bruises, scratches and blunt-force trauma to her abdomen, according to an autopsy report.

At the trial, prosecutors said Gallegos helped her boyfriend because she
felt as though he was the only person who cared about her.


She blamed Montoya for manipulating her because she was afraid to be alone.

Gallegos was going to face 48 years in prison for her role in her baby's death.
But she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of negligent child abuse
resulting in death.

She agreed to testify for the prosecution as part of the deal.



Fatal: An autopsy revealed that the baby, who died in 2007, had bruises and
scratches on her body and blunt-force trauma to her abdomen

She is up for parole in 2014, according to prison records.

This was the second trial for Montoya.

A mistrial was declared last August after Gallegos provided testimony that the judge had already determined was prejudicial.

Gallegos testified that Montoya had committed a sex offense on a separate case
after she had been warned by the court not to do so.

Montoya will be sentenced on May 15.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2141078/Man-killed-girlfriends-daughter-dumped-body-ditch---mother-tried-help-away-it.html#ixzz1uHmg9XSy

A Denver district judge sentenced Angel
Montoya to life in prison without the possibility of parole Tuesday for
killing his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter, Neveah Gallegos.
Montoya was convicted last week of first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death and abuse of a corpse.
Judge Sheila Rappaport's sentence includes 48 years for felony child-abuse and 12 months for abuse of a corpse, a misdemeanor.
Montoya,
who had a previous sex-offense conviction, was alone babysitting Neveah
while her mother, Miriam Gallegos, was at work.
He strangled the girl, then concocted a story with her mother to tell police that Neveah had been kidnapped.
Her body was found under a heap of trash in a Denver gulch in September 2007.
Miriam
Gallegos is serving a 12-year prison sentence for her role in covering
up the crime. She pleaded guilty to negligent child abuse resulting in
death.
Montoya declined to address the court during his sentencing hearing, but his attorney, Holly Lucas, said he intends to appeal.
"The
pain Mr. Montoya has suffered is as great as everyone else's," Lucas
said. "This girl did not die at his hands. This is an innocent man."
Prosecutor
Michelle Amico told the court she volunteered to help find Neveah's
body the day she disappeared, looking in alleyways and trash bins for
the little girl.
Neveah's grandmother Janet Gallegos and great-aunt Vera Vigil told the judge they were glad justice was found for Neveah.


Read more: Angel Montoya gets life for killing Neveah Gallegos, 3, of Denver - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20631984/angel-montoya-gets-life-killing-neveah-gallegos-3#ixzz1v25ZZUE9

Even in death this monster put her man before her baby. POS needs to serve a lot more than 12 years.

She needs to be locked up far beyond her breeding years.

On Sunday friends and family of a child murdered by her mother’s
boyfriend held a celebration of her life and vowed never to forget.
The grandmother of Neveah Gallegos organized the remembrance. It was
held at the place where the 3-year-old’s body was found in 2007 — a
ravine in Lakewood off Perry Street.

Children released balloons to remember Neveah and a local minister spoke to the gathering.
“Children, this is for you. If you are being abused in any way, you need
to tell someone. You need to tell your mother, your father, your
grandmother, your grandfather, your cousins, your sisters, brothers,
friends,” the minister said. “You can tell teachers, policemen, firemen,
pastors; you need to tell someone. There is no reason for you to be
abused by anyone.”
Earlier this month Angel Montoya was sentenced to life in prison without
parole for murder and child abuse resulting in death. Miriam Gallegos
is already serving a 12-year sentence for covering up the crime. She
lied to police and said a red-haired man had abducted her daughter.
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/05/27/friends-and-family-of-neveah-gallegos-hold-celebration-of-her-life/