Neveah Janey Gallegos (August 1, 2004 – September 21, 2007) was a child in Denver, Colorado who was murdered by her mother's live-in boyfriend.
[1] On September 21, 2007, the Denver Police Department received a 911 call from Miriam Gallegos, the mother of Neveah.
[2][3] Gallegos gave a description of the supposed kidnapper and the car he was in, adding that he was the passenger and that she was unable to see the driver.
Gallegos gave police permission to enter her apartment in order for them to obtain a photograph of her daughter to aid them in their search.
Once inside the apartment police noticed a "paper towel on the floor of the living room that had blood or some other type of bodily fluid on it".
Neveah, dressed in red sweat pants, a red shirt with a cartoon character on it and pink tennis shoes, was found on September 24, 2007,[5] three days after being reported missing, in a white plastic trash bag under a tree stump in a ravine.
[6] On September 25, 2007, a candlelight vigil was held for her, with dozens of people placing flowers and stuffed toys in the ravine where Neveah was found.
[3] Montoya had previously been investigated in July 2006 for sexual assault that involved vaginal penetration on Neveah, then 23 months old.
Miriam Gallegos was arrested on charges of being an accessory to murder, false reporting, and fatal child abuse.
Gallegos was indicted May 6, 2009, on one count of child abuse resulting in death and being an accessory to a crime.