State of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Adriana Cabezuela, Defendant-Appellant

Summary

The New Mexico Supreme Court reversed Adriana Cabezuela’s conviction for intentional child abuse resulting in death, holding that the jury instruction misstates the statute by including a failure‑to‑act element and omitting the required age‑under‑twelve element. The Court also held that the State presented sufficient evidence so that a retrial is not barred by double jeopardy, and that the supervising pathologist’s testimony did not violate the Confrontation Clause. The case was remanded for a new trial with proper instructions.