LUBBOCK, TX – A Texas man is facing capital murder charges after he told police he put his girlfriend’s 10-month-old baby inside a backpack and left her in his car for more than five hours.
That man, 27-year-old Trevor Rowe, is in the Lubbock County Detention Center.
“Marion was a very active baby, would run around. She was, she was actually learning to walk," said Emlilio Montoya, Marion’s father.
Marion Montoya was just two months away from turning one, but the birthday party her grandmother was planning isn’t going to happen.
“It was going to be Minnie Mouse,” said Sheila Montoya, Marion’s grandmother, when talking about the party’s theme. They planned a trip to Disney that will never happen now. They bought her pairs of shoes that she’ll never wear.
Now, 27-year-old Trevor Rowe, who is dating Marion’s mother, is behind bars and charged with capital murder after he told police he stuffed Marion into a backpack and left her in his car for more than five hours.
Police responded to 130th Street and Upland on Tuesday.
That’s the location Rowe called 911 from after he said he performed CPR on the child.
He told police he had put Marion in the backpack and placed it on the floorboard of his car while he was at work, checking on her occasionally.
According to the arrest warrant, Rowe went to a fast-food restaurant and two stores with Marion in the backpack during his lunch break.
When he returned to work, he put the backpack in the trunk of his car.
The next time he checked on Marion, she wasn’t breathing. That’s when Rowe called 911.
Marion was transported to UMC, where she was pronounced dead.
Marion’s father and grandmother say they saw warning signs that she was being mistreated by Rowe.
“Trevor came up to get her and she immediately started screaming and grabbing me,” said Sheila.
CPS has confirmed they were involved with the family before Marion’s death.
“If (her father) had had her, if he had had custody of her, she would still be here today. She wouldn’t be gone,” said Katrina Montoya, Marion’s aunt.
According to court documents, back in 2018 Rowe was accused of leaving his two children unattended in a home.
Rowe’s bond is set at two million dollars.