A newborn infant found deceased in Monterey County over two months ago may have been run over by a vehicle being driven by the baby’s 14-year-old mother, county and federal law enforcement said Thursday at a press conference.

An infant dubbed “Baby Angelita” was found deceased on Aug. 1 and detectives determined that the child’s 14-year-old mother had been impregnated by her own father, Sergio Galvez Perez. An Amber Alert went out for both of them on Sept. 6 and the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday that the pair were located by authorities in Mexico.

On Thursday, Sheriff Tina Nieto, the FBI and other law enforcement shed more light on the case that has brought criticism to the Sheriff’s Office and widespread concern about the 14-year-old’s well-being.

Thursday was the first time officials revealed that they believe the girl delivered the baby next to a strawberry field in an unincorporated part of the county where she was a laborer and then may have run it over with her vehicle.

Evidence at the scene allegedly pointed to the infant being run over by a car, including evidence showing that it was the right front wheel of the sedan, according to Detective Richard Geng with the Sheriff’s Office.

“Several feet from Baby Angelita was what appeared to be a large blood stain, which led detectives to believe that Baby Angelita was moved from where she was born to a location under a vehicle that ended up running her over,” Geng said.

The vehicle was caught on license plate readers arriving at and leaving the worksite that day and was connected to the 14-year-old’s parents. Investigators believe the girl hid her pregnancy from her mother and that her father was not in the area on the day of the infant’s death.

Later that day, law enforcement went to the Salinas home of Galvez Perez and the girl’s mother, Ofelia Garcia Ortega. The girl was found hiding under a pile of clothing and all three were taken to the station for questioning.

Initially, the girl told investigators that she had been impregnated by another juvenile, but it was later determined that it had been her father. She was taken to the hospital for post-childbirth care, but her father removed her on Aug. 4 and the two went to Mexico, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The case garnered a lot of attention after Nieto initially announced that there was probable cause to arrest the teen for murder. The Sheriff’s Office also initially said the case did not meet the right criteria for an Amber Alert to be issued.  

Pushback from county Supervisor Wendy Root Askew and the community led the District Attorney’s Office to release a statement that it hadn’t yet charged the girl with anything.

Prosecutors have, however, filed charges against Galvez Perez “for the heinous crime of sexually assaulting his own child.”

Law enforcement at the press conference Thursday said they have no evidence tying Galvez Perez to the death of the infant and said he was in the Bay Area at the time.

Both Galvez Perez and the girl remain in Mexico, though Monterey County authorities are working on extraditing him. They did not comment on whether the 14-year-old girl would be extradited or charged. 

The girl’s mother was arrested this week in Salinas on suspicion of displaying or possessing a forged identification card, permitting a child to suffer or be endangered, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.