A San Antonio woman accused of leaving her newborn on an East Side sidewalk in below‑freezing weather is set for a key hearing this week that will decide whether her case moves forward. The matter is returning to pre‑indictment court to determine if prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed. The infant was taken to a hospital in critical condition after being found in January 2025.
Examining trial set in pre‑indictment court
Court records show an examining trial is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. Thursday, April 9, 2026, in pre‑indictment court with Judge Miguel Najera, according to the San Antonio Express-News. At that hearing, prosecutors must lay out enough evidence for a finding of probable cause. If the judge decides the showing falls short, the charge could be dismissed before it ever reaches a grand jury, where the case has not yet been presented.
How the baby was found
Police were initially told that a 34‑year‑old man discovered the newborn wrapped in a towel and placed in a basket near Nolan and Cherry streets on Jan. 21, 2025. The umbilical cord was still attached, and the infant was breathing weakly when taken to a hospital, San Antonio Report notes. Hospital staff told investigators the baby needed intensive, life‑saving treatment, and police say tests showed methamphetamine in the infant’s system. The man later recanted his original story, telling detectives it was not truthful and that he knew where the child had been born and who the mother was.
Investigation and mother's account
Detectives met with Ava Marie Guerra on the day the baby was taken to the hospital while she was receiving medical care. She told investigators she had learned she was pregnant two months earlier and delivered the child unexpectedly in a toilet at a friend’s apartment, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Police say Guerra did not call 911 or seek medical help for the newborn and that, after she was released from the hospital, she stopped communicating with detectives, which led to a warrant for her arrest. She is charged with injury to a child in connection with the incident.
Charges, law and Safe Haven context
Guerra is charged under the “injury to a child” statute in Texas Penal Code §22.04, which can be prosecuted at different felony levels depending on the outcome and what state of mind prosecutors can prove. The law spells out when acts or omissions that cause bodily injury or serious bodily injury to a child are criminal. Texas statutes treat certain failures to act that lead to serious harm as criminal conduct.
The case has also renewed attention on San Antonio’s Safe Haven policy and the city’s lack of operational baby boxes. Local reporting points out that the intersection where the baby was said to have been left sits across from a designated Safe Haven fire station and that advocates are pushing for more outreach to vulnerable parents, according to the San Antonio Report.
Why the case is drawing attention
Advocates and local nonprofits say the arrest highlights gaps in outreach to parents in crisis and the need to better publicize safe‑surrender options so infants are not left in dangerous places. National coverage has noted a recent string of abandoned‑baby cases across Texas and renewed calls for awareness campaigns and support services, a backdrop that local groups say adds urgency to the upcoming examining trial. The Washington Post has tracked the trend and its possible links to access to prenatal care.
