Fetus found in gift box, Texas couple charged

[December 15, 2009]  SAN JUAN, Texas (AP) -- A south Texas couple put an aborted 7-month-old fetus in a gift box under a Christmas tree after they were unable to flush the remains down a toilet, authorities alleged Monday.

Ruby Lee Medina, 31, and Javier Gonzalez, 37, of Mission, have been charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Bond was set Monday at $20,000 each.

A woman who answered the telephone at the San Juan city jail Monday night said she could not say whether Medina or Gonzalez had retained an attorney.

San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez said police found the fetus inside the woman's trailer home Thursday after getting an anonymous tip.

Autopsy results are pending, but Gonzalez said police believe the woman used pills to induce an abortion Thursday, then called an ambulance after she began bleeding and told doctors she didn't know where the fetus was.

The police chief said the couple tried to flush the fetus down the toilet, but that didn't work.

"Apparently they cleaned up the fetus and they placed it inside a gift box under the Christmas tree," the police chief said.

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Information from: The McAllen Monitor, http://www.themonitor.com/

Information from: San Antonio Express-News, http://www.mysa.com/

[Associated Press]

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