Man who stuffed 10-month-old baby into backpack, left her in car, sentenced to life in prison

LUBBOCK, Texas — A Texas man who pleaded guilty to capital murder in the death of a 10-month-old girl was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

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Trevor Rowe was charged with stuffing Marion Jester-Montoya into a backpack and then leaving her in the bag inside a vehicle while he was at work, KCBD reported.

Police said Rowe had picked up Marion from his girlfriend’s home, and took her to his job site, where he put her into a backpack and left her on the front passenger seat floorboard for more than five hours in 2020, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported.

Police said that Rowe was “checking on her periodically,” KLBK reported.

At one point Rowe said that Marion had gotten out of the backpack, the Avalanche-Journal reported. He put her back in and checked on her again at lunch when he said he unzipped the bag and the child was lightly crying but breathing.

He then went to a fast-food restaurant and two stores before returning to work, the newspaper reported.

That’s when police said Rowe moved the child “through the backseat pass through to the trunk.”

At about 4:50 p.m. he checked on Marion who he said had turned white and was not breathing.

Police said he later called 911 when she was not breathing and drove to another area of town where he tried CPR until first responders arrived, KLBK reported.

Marion was taken to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The autopsy found that the girl had asphyxiated, the Avalanche-Journal reported.