The Murder of Neveah Gallegos

On September 21, 2007, 3-year-old Neveah Janey Gallegos of Denver, Colorado, was murdered by her mother’s boyfriend, Angel Montoya. The year prior to the murder, the man was accused of sexually molesting Neveah. Her mother refused to cooperate with the investigation in that case.

After the murder, mother Miriam Gallegos called 911 claiming Neveah had been kidnapped. She told police that an unknown man grabbed her out of her arms as she walked down the road. She claimed the man was the passenger inside a red car, but said she did not see the driver.

Officers visited the family's home after Miriam reported the kidnapping. Inside the home, officers discovered a paper towel lying on the living room floor. The paper towel was covered in blood or another type of bodily fluid.

Miriam Confesses During Police Interrogation

Police asked Miriam to come to the station to answer questions.

When she arrived, she told police her boyfriend called her while she was at work telling her to come home. When she arrived, Neveah was not breathing. Miriam attempted to revive her but said she could not "put air into her."

Miriam placed her beautiful daughter's body into a white trash bag, stuffed it inside a larger black trash bag, then folded the bags into a duffel bag. She gave the duffel bag to Montoya who disposed of Neveahs body.

On September 24, 2007, Neveah's body was found under a tree in a ravine, approximately two miles from the apartment she lived in with her mother and her mother's boyfriend.

An autopsy later determined that Neveah died from asphyxiation.

Angel’s Criminal History Includes Prior Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Neveah

Angel was a sex offender convicted in 2000 on charges of indecent exposure to minors. He failed to register as a sex offender in 2003 and was sentenced to jail time.

In 2006, Angel was charged with child abuse and false imprisonment. He pleaded down to one count of misdemeanor child abuse and received a 270-day jail sentence. The judge suspended the jail time and placed him on supervised probation for 18 months.

Most troubling, an investigation against Angel took place in July 2006 alleging that he sexually assaulted Neveah, who was 23 months old at the time. Because Miriam refused to cooperate with investigators, the case against Montoya was dropped.

Police charged Montoya in Neveah’s murder and took Miriam into custody on charges of being an accessory to murder, false police report, and fatal child abuse but released both of them pending the results of the autopsy. Police issued a warrant for Montoya's arrest on charges of failure to register as a sex offender the same month he was released.

By March 2008, he was on the run but police caught up with him soon thereafter.

Trial & Sentencing

On April 22, 2009, Montoya and Gallego were indicted in Neveah’s death after the results of the autopsy came back. Both pleaded not guilty. Miriam was sentenced to 12 years in prison with five years of parole to follow. In 2012, Montoya was found guilty of murder, child abuse resulting in death, and abuse of a corpse. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

My Thoughts

Rest easy, sweet little Neveah. My condolences to the family. I hope your life is sweet and free from pain now.

The woman doesn’t deserve the title of mother. How could she stay with a man she obviously knew sexually abused her baby? She deserves life in prison without the possibility of parole alongside her man. ‘Til death do the trash part.