Police: Missing 3-Year-Old Victim Of Foul Play

[odette]

Police: Missing 3-Year-Old Victim Of Foul Play

-- Mom Said Toddler Snatched From Her Arms --

* Video: Kidnapping Suspect Captured; Girl Still Missing

ABC 7 NEWS - POSTED: 3:39 pm MDT September 21, 2007 - UPDATED: 1:05 am MDT September 22, 2007

DENVER -- Police believe that a 3-year-old girl who was reportedly snatched from her mother's arms may be a victim of foul play.

It's not exactly clear what happened Friday afternoon but police suspect that Angel Ray Montoya had something to do with it.

Montoya, who is wanted for investigation of a homicide, was captured Friday evening after an all-night manhunt. The girl, Nevaeh Gallegos, has not been found.

Investigators would not say if they believe the girl is dead, but Detective John White said, "We do have our homicide investigators working on this."

Officers are asking anyone who saw Nevaeh to call 911.

Nevaeh was wearing a red, long-sleeve sweatshirt with an elephant on the front, red jeans and pink princess shoes. She is Hispanic, has straight dark hair, is about 3 feet 6 inches tall and weighs about 45 pounds.

Montoya was arrested near Lincoln Street and 13th Avenue. Officer said they saw a man who looked like Montoya. When they confronted him, there was a brief scuffle and the man ran off. Police chased him, took him into custody and confirmed that it was Montoya.

The strange set of events began at abut 3 p.m., when officers were called to the scene at 11th and Cherokee on the report of a possible kidnapping.

The girl's mother said she was holding her 3-year-old daughter while walking down an alley. She said she was taking the girl to the hospital when two men drove up, grabbed the girl and drove off in a white four-door vehicle. She described one suspect as a tall man with red hair and a full red beard. He was wearing a green baseball cap, she said. She said the other man was also white.

Officers gathered at the parking lot of KRMA, the public television station near the scene, and seized tapes from the station's security cameras, which look into that alley, in hopes of getting pictures of the car.

About an hour later, officers left the area and abruptly canceled the Amber Alert they had issued at 4:30 p.m. Police did not explain why they canceled the Amber Alert, other than to say that what they learned during their investigation made them "move in the direction away from an Amber Alert."

It's not known if Montoya and the girl are related, or if the woman had filed a false report when she said that her child was kidnapped by two white men.

According to court records, Montoya was found guilty in 2005 of child abuse.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...25/detail.html

[odette]

Police: 3-Year-Old Stuffed In Bag, Dumped In Alley

-- Mom, Boyfriend Arrested --

* Video: Public Asked To Search For Girl's Body
* Video: Suspect Captured, Girl Still Missing

ABC 7 NEWS - POSTED: 11:08 am MDT September 22, 2007 - UPDATED: 12:52 am MDT September 23, 2007

DENVER -- Denver police are searching for a 3-year-old girl whom they believed to be dead, stuffed in a large plastic bag and dumped somewhere in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

On Saturday, top law enforcement officials issued a disturbing plea for help from the public.

"It's pretty simple," said District Attorney Mitch Morrisey. "Walk out into your back yard, look through your Dumpsters, help us find this little girl. She's probably in a black plastic bag or white plastic bag."

The girl's mother, who had claimed on Friday that her little girl was snatched from her arms by two men while she was walking down an alley, is now being held on suspicion of being an accessory to murder.

"We've arrested the mother as an accomplice. We've also arrested the mother's boyfriend who we believe may have done something with this child," said Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson.

Miriam Gallegos, 20, was arrested Friday night.

Her boyfriend, Angel Ray Montoya, was taken into custody Friday evening after an all-night manhunt. He is being held for investigation of a first-degree murder charge.

Police said when they arrested him, he was carrying a duffle bag, but it was empty. Police suspect he put the girl's body in the bag after she was murdered and disposed of her somewhere in Capitol Hill neighborhood.

They said he also had a bus pass, so it is possible he took a bus or light rail somewhere to get rid of the body, police said.

"We need to re-create what these two did yesterday prior to the disappearance of the 3-year-old girl," said Police Chief Gerry Whitman.

Police are going through the Denver alleys and Dumpsters, searching for 3-year-old Niveah Gallegos. They have also asked the Denver Fire Department to search the Platte River between 6th Avenue and Interstate 70 for the girl's body.

On Saturday night, Whitman said officers are focusing the search between 6th and 20th Avenue from Downing to Speer.

Investigators have not said why they believe she is dead. The toddler was last seen with Montoya at an apartment on 12th Avenue and Logan Street -- an apartment that has since been sealed with crime scene tape.

Miriam Gallegos also faces a charge of filing a false report. At about 3 p.m. Friday , Gallegos told officers that she was taking Niveah to the hospital when two men she didn't know kidnapped the girl and drove off in a white vehicle. That prompted officers to issue an Amber Alert in search of the vehicle and the girl. But about an hour into the investigation, police canceled the alert and said that Niveah was the victim of foul play, but they wouldn't say what led them to believe that.

Niveah was last seen wearing a red, long-sleeve shirt with an elephant on the front, red sweat pants and pink princess shoes. She has straight brown hair, brown eyes, is about 3 feet 6 inches tall and weighs about 45 pounds.

Montoya is a registered sex offender and has been convicted of child abuse and indecent exposure to minors and adults. He has also been arrested on charges of kidnapping, according to police records.

He was arrested at about 9 p.m. near Lincoln Street and 13th Avenue. Officer said they saw a man who looked like Montoya. When they confronted him, there was a brief scuffle and the man ran off. Police chased him, took him into custody and confirmed that it was Montoya.

Gallegos also has a criminal history. In 2006, she was accused of possession of marijuana and found guilty of possessing drug paraphernalia.

Anyone who has seen Niveah is asked to call 911, the Denver Police Department at 720-913-2000 or Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...=den&psp=news#

[odette]

Police search for girl, 3; mother arrested

By Rocky Mountain News - September 22, 2007

Denver police have arrested a 20-year-old woman as an accessory in the slaying of her 3-year-old daughter.

Police said Miriam Gallegos told them Friday afternoon that her daughter, Niveah Gallegos, had been kidnapped.

Police investigated the mother's story and said they determined that Niveah was the victim of foul play. They would not say why they believe the girl is dead.

Police officers were still searching for the child's body Saturday night. They said they believe she might have been placed in a large plastic bag and disposed of in the downtown area.

Police expanded the search Saturday afternoon to the shores of the South Platte River. Denver fire crews helped search the river’s banks from the Broncos bridge at Invesco Field at Mile High to 30th Avenue.

Gallegos and a second suspect, Angel Ray Montoya, 22, appeared in court Saturday to be advised of their charges. Montoya faces a charge of first-degree murder and is being held without bail. In addition to accessory charges, Gallegos is suspected of false reporting and child abuse resulting in death, police said. She is being held on $500,000 bail.

In the hours after she was reported missing Friday, dozens of Denver police officers and a bloodhound searched for the little girl in an area near downtown.

About 8 Friday night, they arrested Montoya, a registered sex offender, at East 13th Avenue and Lincoln Street after he led police on a brief foot chase.

Earlier in the day, police had said Montoya was being investigated for homicide in connection with the girl’s disappearance.

Police began searching for the child about 3 p.m., shortly after her mother called and told officers that two men kidnapped her daughter in the 1000 block of Cherokee Street, a few blocks south of the Denver Police Department headquarters.

An Amber Alert was issued.

But police canceled the alert a short time later after interviewing Miriam Gallegos.

"We do not find (the mother's account) credible," police spokesman Sonny Jackson said.

Montoya had been seen at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the 1200 block of Logan Street in Capitol Hill, less than a half-mile from where the girl was reported kidnapped. Friday night, police investigated two Capitol Hill locations. One was the area where Montoya was arrested at 13th Avenue and Lincoln Street. .....

continued
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...705108,00.html

[odette]

Police Ask Public to Help Find Little Girl's Body

-- Chief says there was no abduction of 3-year-old --

MY FOX COLARADO - Created: Saturday, 22 Sep 2007, 10:31 AM MDT - Last Edited: Saturday, 22 Sep 2007, 5:48 PM MDT

DENVER -- A registered sex offender was being held for investigation of first-degree murder Saturday as authorities continued to search for a three-year-old girl who was missing and presumed dead.

Police believe the child’s mother, Miriam Gallegos had a role in the alleged crime. Her boyfriend was the man in custody.

Police chief Gerald Whitman with Denver District Attorney Mitch Morissey alongside, held a news conference early Saturday evening to ask the public for help in finding the body of the three-year-old.

Angel Ray Montoya, 22, was arrested at East 13th Avenue and Lincoln Street following a brief foot chase Friday evening after an Amber Alert was issued for the three-year-old. .....

continued
-- Chief says there was no abduction of 3-year-old --

Niveah Gallegos - Photo provided by Denver Police

[odette]

Cops Call for Public's Help in Finding Missing Girl:

-- Three-year old feared dead; mom, boyfriend, in custody --

by Eli Stokols - September 22, 2007

DENVER (KWGN) — Police Chief Gerry Whitman and District Attorney Mitch Morrisey Saturday afternoon made a plea to the public for help finding Niveah Gallegos, the three-year-old girl who has been missing since Friday and is feared dead.

"In any type of homicide, it's critical to find the body," Morrisey said. "If (the public) can just take the time to look around, in dumpsters, alleys, if they see any disturbed ground anywhere, it could really help us find this girl."

Almost 24 hours after arresting Angel Montoya, the boyfriend of the girl's mother and a registered sex-offender, Chief Whitman talked more about what police think might have happened to the little girl. She was last seen at an apartment in at 1257 Logan Street where she lived with her mother, Miriam Gallegos, and Montoya, 22, who is being held on first-degree murder charges.

"We believe that Mr. Montoya possibly took the little girl, concealed in a white trash bag and then in a duffel bag, away from that address and possibly disposed of the little girl's body," Whitman said.

Police spent hours searching that apartment Friday and again Saturday.

"I saw a car taken away, as well as a duffel bag," said Tiffany Scholes, who lives across the street. "There were a lot of cops here for a long time." .....

continued
http://cw2.trb.com/news/kwgn-missing...ll=kwgn-home-2

[odette]

Grim turn in girl's case

-- Mom said 3-year-old was abducted; police now suspect foul play --

By Felisa Cardona and Kirk Mitchell - Denver Post Staff Writers - Article Last Updated: 09/23/2007 01:21:56 AM MDT

Detectives and police volunteers combed through trash bins and bushes in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood on Saturday looking for the body of 3-year-old Niveah Gallegos, as her mother was held on suspicion of being an accessory to her death.

Authorities asked the public to help locate the girl.

"We think it was foul play," Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said at a news conference. "She is probably in a white plastic bag or a black plastic bag. We need help."

Miriam Gallegos, 20, did not speak and appeared stoic during a hearing earlier in the day at Denver City Jail, at which she wore leg shackles.

"She claimed it was an abduction, and it wasn't, and that is why she is in jail,"

Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman said at the news conference.

The arrest of Gallegos came hours after her boyfriend, 22-year-old Angel Ray Montoya, was arrested Friday night on suspicion of first-degree murder.

Whitman said police found a blue duffle bag with black handles in Montoya's possession that police believe was used to carry the girl's body.

Whitman and Morrissey asked people to search trash bins and abandoned buildings for a garbage bag containing the body. Whitman said police are particularly interested in the area between East 6th and East 20th avenues and from Downing Street to Speer Boulevard.

"We're trying to retrace their steps," Whitman said. .....

continued
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_6972544

Detectives from the Denver Police Department and volunteers search in dumpsters
in an alley in Denver searching for the missing little girl, Niveah Gallegos. Here
Detective Scott Kunugi, far right, and others search dumpsters.
(Post special / Matthew Staver)

[odette]

Search for missing girl continues Sunday despite grim prognosis

9NEWS - Colarado - posted by: Colleen Locke , Producer - reported by: Kyle Clark , Reporter - created: 9/22/2007 5:57:31 PM - Last updated: 9/23/2007 7:59:26 AM

* VIDEO >> Search for missing girl continues Sunday despite grim prognosis - - September 23, 2007

DENVER – Police and the Denver District Attorney's Office are asking the public to search their dumpsters for a bag which may contain the body of a 3-year-old girl.

Niveah Gallegos is described as about 3 feet, 6 inches tall, weighing 40 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a red, long sleeve shirt with a white elephant on the front and red sweatpants. Authorities say she has a scratch on the outside corner of her left eye. .....

continued
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=77790

[odette]

Grim Search for Missing Girl Continues

-- Police: Niveah Gallegos killed by mother, boyfriend --

FOX NEWS - Last Edited: Sunday, 23 Sep 2007, 10:29 AM MDT

* VIDEO >> The Denver Police Chief asks for the public's help to find the body of a 3-year-old girl who investigators believe was murdered. September 22, 2007

DENVER -- Authorities intensified their search in Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood Sunday for a three-year-old girl who was missing and presumed dead at the hands of her mother and her boyfriend.

Police believe the body of Niveah Gallegos may have been placed inside a large plastic bag.

Authorities were seen searching trash dumpsters in the area around Speer Blvd. and Lincoln Street. Sunday morning. Police also searched for the child’s body in Cherry Creek. It was unclear what, if any, evidence was found. .....

Continued:
Police: Niveah Gallegos killed by mother, boyfriend

[odette]

Search Fails to Turn Up Missing 3-Year-Old

-- Police: Niveah Gallegos killed by mother, boyfriend --

MYFOX COLARADO - Last Edited: Sunday, 23 Sep 2007, 6:19 PM MDT

DENVER -- More than 200 volunteers Sunday were unable to find a missing 3-year-old girl whom police believe was killed. Bloodhounds aiding in the search picked up a scent, but it did not lead to Niveah Gallegos. .....

Continued: -- Videos - Pictures --
Search Fails to Turn Up Missing 3-Year-Old

Police and volunteers searched trash dumpsters,
bushes and even Cherry Creek as they searched for
Niveah Gallegos. September 23, 2007.

[odette]

Search for missing toddler comes up empty

-- Police call for public's help again --

by Eli Stokols - News2 - September 24, 2007

DENVER (KWGN) — More than 200 police and volunteer searchers spent Sunday morning looking for the body of a missing three-year-old girl, who police believe was murdered sometime Friday and then disposed of in a plastic garbage bag. .....

EXCERPT: The search will resume Monday morning.

As the work week begins, police are asking businessowners who have been away all weekend to be especially vigilant. Trash pick-up of large dumpsters will also be put on hold in the downtown area. Regular residential trash pickup will continue normally.

"We aren't ruling anything out," Jackson said. "She could be inside, outside, in a laundry room or something. We just don't know. That's why it's important to continue to ask for the public's help."

Continued:
-- Police call for public's help again --

Niveah Gallegos

[odette]

Search halts trash pickup

-- Police suspect 3-year-old's body was thrown in bin --

By Mike McPhee - Denver Post Staff Writer - Article Last Updated: 09/24/2007 12:33:32 AM MDT

After some 200 volunteers spent the weekend futilely searching trash bins, alleys and hallways for the body of a missing 3-year-old girl, the city took the unprecedented move of suspending trash pickup today of Dumpster-size trash bins.

"We're going to request the delay of trash pickup Monday of the larger receptacles," police spokesman Sonny Jackson said. "We're asking all businesses to look in their trash Monday for anything that might be different."

Police remain silent as to what they know of the missing girl, except to say they're confident that she was killed Friday, that the body was wrapped in a plastic trash bag and that they believe the mother's boyfriend tossed the body in a trash bin before he was arrested Friday night.

Police said the mother, Miriam Gallegos, 20, called them Friday afternoon and said that her daughter, Niveah, 3, had been kidnapped by two men in the 1000 block of Cherokee Street. Police immediately issued an Amber Alert, then canceled it a short while later after questioning Gallegos. They arrested her on suspicion of accessory to murder.

Based on information they received, police brought in bloodhounds from Jefferson County on Friday evening. They picked up the scent of Angel Ray Montoya, the 22-year-old boyfriend of Gallegos. Police found him at East 13th Avenue and Lincoln Street about 8 p.m. Friday and arrested him on suspicion of first-degree murder and other charges. He was carrying a dark-blue duffel bag with black straps when police found him. .....

Continued:
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_6979968

[odette]

Area scoured for body of 3-year-old

-- Garbage bins, creek searched for missing girl --

By Julie Poppen - Rocky Mountain News - September 24, 2007

Trash collection will be delayed downtown as police continue to look for 3-year-old Niveah Gallegos, who authorities believe was killed and stuffed in a trash bag by her mother's boyfriend.

About 200 police officers and volunteers hit the streets Sunday at 4 a.m. with protective gloves, masks, shovels, sharp sticks and rakes.

They fanned out across Capitol Hill and beyond for a third day in search of the girl with short brown hair and bright brown eyes. They scoured bins, both banks of Cherry Creek, flower beds, doorways and alleys. .....

Continued:
Area scoured for body of 3-year-old

[odette]

Police Ask For Public's Help To Find 3-Year-Old

-- Police Believe Girl Stuffed In Bag, Put In Trash Can --

ABC7 - THE DENVER CHANNEL - POSTED: 8:42 am MDT September 23, 2007 - UPDATED: 5:30 am MDT September 24, 2007 - VIDEO'S - SLIDESHOW

DENVER, Colo. -- Denver police are searching for a 3-year-old girl they believed to be dead, stuffed in a large plastic bag and dumped somewhere in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

On Sunday, about 200 volunteers and police officers canvassed downtown Denver between Sixth Avenue and 20th Street and Downing Street and Speer Boulevard.

Using search dogs, volunteers searched since 4 a.m. Sunday looking into Dumpsters and around the Cherry Creek and South Platte River for any sign of Niveah Gallegos.

"We went Dumpster by Dumpster, alley by alley, street by street," said police spokesman Sonny Jackson. "We were very systematic in the process."

"It's pretty disheartening to look for such a long time and not come up with anything," Jackson said.

Police continue to ask for help in locating Gallegos.

The public has been asked to look through Dumpsters for a plastic bag that might contain her body.

The Guardian Angels offered their help Sunday night.

"I've got to tell you I've heard a lot of support as we go people say, 'I've checked my Dumpster, keep moving on,'" said Nick Trammell of the Guardian Angels.
Businesses which were closed over the weekend have been asked to check their dumpsters on Monday morning.

Jackson said trash pickup for large Dumpsters will be suspended so police can continue to look for Gallegos. Smaller trash cans will be collected as normal, however.

On Saturday, top law enforcement officials issued a disturbing plea for help from the public.

"It's pretty simple," said District Attorney Mitch Morrisey. "Walk out into your back yard, look through your Dumpsters, help us find this little girl. She's probably in a black plastic bag or white plastic bag." .....

continued:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...77/detail.html

[Zoey]

"It's pretty simple," said District Attorney Mitch Morrisey. "Walk out into your back yard, look through your Dumpsters, help us find this little girl. She's probably in a black plastic bag or white plastic bag." .....

I just read this in your post Odette and almost threw up. That has got to be the saddest thing I have seen printed in an article yet. I cannot believe what is happening to our young children these days. Why do people do this to their own flesh and blood, WHY?

I don't know what else to say, I am so sickened by this.

To Nivea - my heart goes out to you little one.

[odette]

Arrest affidavit details investigation in case of missing girl -

Written by: Dan Boniface - Web Producer - and: KUSA - tv , Staff - Last updated: 9/24/2007 12:45:43 PM

DENVER - An arrest affidavit obtained by 9NEWS on Monday revealed the details that led a police investigation away from a kidnapping to a missing child case.

On Friday afternoon, Denver Police were dispatched to the 1100 block of Cherokee after a report that 3-year-old Nevaeh Gallegos has been abducted by a tall white man with red hair and a full beard who was last seen in a white sedan, possibly with one other kidnapper.

According to the arrest affidavit, an officer went to the Gallegos home to look for a picture of the little girl to aid in the search.

That's when they noticed a paper towel with blood or some other kind of bodily fluid on it.

Police say the child abuse unit was called to the apartment and questioned the girl's mother, 20-year-old Miriam Gallegos, and she admitted that when she came home from work, Nevaeh was not breathing.

According to the affidavit, Gallegos says she tried to resuscitate the girl by breathing into her.

That's when, police say in the affidavit, Gallegos' boyfriend 22-year-old Angel Ray Montoya got scared and they both decided to put Nevaeh into a trash bag. The 3-year-old was first placed into a white trash bag and then that bag was put into a black trash bag.

Montoya then left the apartment, but Gallegos says she does not know where he went, the affidavit states. .....

continued:
http://www.9news.com/news/top-articl...?storyid=77878

VIEW SLIDESHOW - 20 IMAGES

[odette]

Affidavit: Blood Found At Missing Girl's Home

-- Denver Delays Trash Pickup In Search For Girl --

CBS4 DENVER - Rick Sallinger - Sep 24, 2007 12:02 pm US/Mountain

(CBS4) DENVER CBS4 News has obtained the arrest affidavit in the case of missing 3-year-old Niveah Gallegos. The affidavit says Miriam Gallegos came home to find her 3-year-old dead.

Their apartment is in the 1200 block of Logan Street in downtown Denver. Police went to Miriam Gallegos's apartment to get a picture of the child after Miriam Gallegos reported her daughter missing. She claimed a man kidnapped her child near 11th and Cherokee.

While Denver police officers were at the apartment, they reported seeing a paper towel with blood on it.

The affidavit claims Gallegos had been told to come home from her job earlier that day by her boyfriend, Angel Ray Montoya. She was not told why. When Miriam Gallegos got to her apartment, the child was not breathing. She and her boyfriend tried to put air into the child, according to the report.

The couple allegedly decided not to call an ambulance. They put Niveah in trash bags, one white, one black. Those bags were then put into a royal blue duffle bag.

The affidavit states Montoya left with the body in a duffle bag. He was last seen walking north on Logan Street in downtown Denver.

Miriam Gallegos, Niveah's biological mother, faces charges of accessory to murder. .....

continued:
http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/loc...267140442.html

[odette]

Mom Says Dead Girl Put Into Two Bags, Then In Duffel Bag

ABC7 NEWS - UPDATED: 1:14 pm MDT September 24, 2007 - VIDEO'S

DENVER -- The mother who had initially claimed her daughter had been kidnapped admitted to police that the 3-year-old girl was dead and that she and her boyfriend decided to place the girl in a plastic bag, according to an arrest affidavit released Monday.

Miriam Gallegos, 20, told officers that while she at at work on Friday afternoon, her boyfriend called her and told her to come home right away, but wouldn't say why. .....

EXCERPT: She said she and her boyfriend, Angel Ray Montoya, were scared so instead of calling an ambulance or police, they decided to place the girl in a white plastic trash bag, cover that with another black plastic bag and place that bag in a blue duffel bag with yellow handles, according to the arrest affidavit.

Then she said they both went to an alley behind their apartment and that's when she and Montoya went in separate directions, according to the affidavit. She told officers that the last she saw of Montoya, he was carrying the duffel bag with Niveah inside.

CONTINUED:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...12/detail.html

[odette]

3-year-old girl's body believed found

Missing Girl
* Watch video about the search for Niveah Gallegos.
* Read an arrest affidavit in the case (PDF, 19 MB).

By John Ingold - Denver Post Staff Writer - Article Last Updated: 09/24/2007 06:20:19 PM MDT - VIDEO

Denver police officers scouring the city for a missing 3-year-old girl found what they believe is her body this afternoon.

Officers found the body about 4:45 p.m. in a ravine near the 1100 block of Perry Street. The location, in west Denver, is well outside the designated search area police had earlier announced, and it is unclear whether officers had specific information directing them to the area. Detectives are currently processing the scene.

It was a grim end to the search for Niveah Gallegos, and it came three days after police arrested her mother and her mother's boyfriend in connection with the death. .....

EXCERPT: While Gallegos has only a minor criminal history in Colorado, Montoya's is more extensive. According to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records, he was arrested as a juvenile for indecent exposure and is now a registered sex offender.

Montoya was convicted of child abuse in 2005. In that case, a 4-year-old boy who said he was Montoya's son said Montoya choked him because "he was in trouble for being bad for his mother," according to an arrest affidavit in that case. The boy's mother is not Gallegos.

The boy suffered bruises on his forehead, temples, chin, throat, shoulder, arms, feet and cheeks, according to the affidavit.

Finally, Montoya's arrest affidavit in the homicide case says Denver police investigated him for sexual assault in 2006. Because of a redaction in the affidavit, it is unclear who the victim in the case is. Denver police spokesman John White said the case involves a juvenile. According to the affidavit, the case was dropped because Gallegos did not cooperate with detectives.

continued:
http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_6985082

[odette]

Grim end to hunt for girl

-- Affidavit says 2 put body in trash bags --

Missing Girl
* Watch video about the search for Niveah Gallegos.
* Read an arrest affidavit in the case (PDF, 19 MB).

By John Ingold and Manny Gonzales - Denver Post Staff Writers - Article Last Updated: 09/25/2007 01:38:10 AM MDT

Denver police officers, after searching through mud and garbage, found what they believe is the body of a missing 3-year-old girl Monday afternoon.

Officers found the body about 4:45 p.m. in a shallow ravine in Lakewood and Dry Gulch Park near the 1100 block of Perry Street. The location, in west Denver, is well outside the search area police had earlier announced. It was unclear whether officers had specific information directing them to the area.

The discovery came three days after police arrested Niveah's mother, Miriam Gallegos, and her mother's boyfriend, Angel Montoya, in connection with the death.

An arrest affidavit released Monday reveals that Denver police investigated Montoya last year for allegedly sexually assaulting Niveah. But authorities never filed charges against Montoya, a registered sex offender, because Gallegos did not cooperate with detectives, the affidavit states. .....

continued:
http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_6989086

Denver Coloner team and police officers are in the scene of near 11th Avenue and
Perry Street where the body of Nevaeh Gallegos found on Monday afternoon.
(Post / Hyoung Chang)

[odette]

Little girl's body found in west Denver

By Alan Gathright and Julie Poppen - Rocky Mountain News - September 24, 2007

The four-day search for 3-year- old Niveah Gallegos ended Monday when Denver police removed a body they believe is the missing child from a ravine.

"It helps bring closure to the families, the grandparents, and the community of Denver," said Lt. Ron Saunier, spokesman for Denver police.

The search for Niveah was suspended after police went to the ravine near 11th Avenue and Perry Street at 4:45 p.m.

Saunier declined to say how police knew where to find the body, saying that he did not want to jeopardize the district attorney's case.

The site is more than 31/2 miles west of where the child lived at 12th Avenue and Logan Street.

An autopsy by the Denver coroner's office will determine the cause of death and identity of the body. .....

EXCERPT: On Monday, a number of residents and passerbys gathered near the ravine where Niveah's body was found.

Two bike paths converge near the ravine, which is covered with grass and brush. Water can be seen and heard trickling in parts of the ravine. A sign along one of the bike paths indicated that the area was part of the Lakewood disc golf course.

"I wish I brought flowers," said a woman who refused to give her name but said she lived nearby.

"I just wanted to say a prayer for her. It's horrible. I don't understand how a parent can do this to their child," the woman said. "I just hope that they get punished for what they did. It's such a shock."

continued:
Little girl's body found in west Denver

Authorities remove the body of a little girl from
a ravine near Perry Street and 11th Avenue.
They believe it is the body of 3-year-old Niveah
Gallegos.

[odette]

Montoya became sex offender as a juvenile

By By Hector Gutierrez - Rocky Mountain News - September 24, 2007

Within the last three years Angel R. Montoya lived on the edge with two small children, including little Niveah Gallegos, who was found dead in west Denver Monday.

Both cases happened after he failed to register as a sex offender in 2003. He had been a sex offenders since his days as a juvenile.

Police investigated Montoya twice since January 2005 on allegations that he sexually abused Niveah and tried to choke and bound a 4-year-old boy.

The circumstances surrounding last week's disappearance of Niveah and her murder appeared to be an eerie rerun of the case involving the small boy, according to court papers.

Just as Nivea was left with Montoya to babysit while her mother went to work, the mother of the little boy left her son with Montoya while she headed out to her job on Jan. 22, 2005, detectives wrote in their affidavit. .....

continued:
Montoya became sex offender as a juvenile

Related Link: # Affidavit and application for arrest warrant
http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/...7affidavit.pdf

[odette]

Body found in search for girl

-- Remains miles from where 3-year-old lived --

By Tillie Fong, Alan Gathright And Julie Poppen, Rocky Mountain News - September 25, 2007

The four-day search for 3-year-old Niveah Gallegos ended Monday, when Denver police removed a body they believe is the missing child from a ravine.

"It helps bring closure to the families, the grandparents and the community of Denver," said Lt. Ron Saunier, spokesman for Denver police.

The search for Niveah was suspended after police went to the ravine in Lakewood Gulch Park near West 11th Avenue and Perry Street at 4:45 p.m. .....

continued:
Body found in search for girl

[odette]

Police finding missing girl's body

-- Family friends still in shock over killing --

-- VIDEO >> Body Of Murdered Toddler Found

by Ginger Delgado - News2 - September 25, 2007

DENVER (KWGN) — It was a devastating discovery Monday night as Denver Police announced they have found the body of Nevaeh Gallegos. The little girl's body was found in a shallow ravine near 11th and Perry St. in West Denver at 4:45 p.m.

Police believe the little girl was killed on Friday by her mother's boyfriend, Angel Montoya. Friends of the little girl, as well as some members of the community who helped search for her since Friday, showed up at the scene where her body was found. Many police officers who worked on the case were there too. .....

continued:
Police finding missing girl's body

[odette]

Mother Charged in 3-Year-Old's Death

11ALIVE - Provided By: NBC News - Last Modified: 9/25/2007 10:10:46 AM - Video Available » Thanh Truong Reports

Police in Denver, Colorado say they have found the body of a young child they believe to be that of missing 3-year-old Nevaeh Gallegos.

Her mother, Miriam Gallegos, and her mother's boyfriend, Angel Montoya, are both behind bars charged in the girl's death.

A family friend, Rebecca Borrego, said, "She was happy. She was a happy little girl and would always run around with a big smile on her face."

Rebecca Borego is a high school friend of Mirriam Gallegos', the mother suspected of being an accessory in the murder of her own daughter.

"She loved her daughter like she was everything to her, now that I hear this I don't even know what to think of her anymore," Borego said. .....

continued:
Mother Charged in 3-Year-Old's Death

Nevaeh Gallegos

[odette]

DENVER POST - Article Last Updated: 09/25/2007 10:26:48 AM MDT

http://origin.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_6989086

[odette]

Child's Body Found In Trash Bag

-- Mom: Dead Toddler Put Into Two Bags, Duffel Bag --

ABC7 NEWS - POSTED: 5:28 am MDT September 25, 2007

3-YEAR-OLD GIRL KILLED
# Images: Search For Missing Girl
# Arrest Affidavit: Miriam Gallegos
# Arrest Affidavit: Angel Montoya
# Video: Girl's Body Found
# Video: Police Release Arrest Affidavits
# Video: Search Moves Into Third Day
# Video: Police Ask What Happened?
# Video: Public Asked To Search
# Video: Suspect Captured, Girl Still Missing

DENVER -- An autopsy was scheduled Tuesday on the body of the 3-year-old girl that was discovered Monday in a trash bag dumped in a ravine at Lakewood Gulch Park.

Police officers found the body of Niveah Gallegos in a wooded area at 11th Avenue and Perry Street at about 4:45 p.m.

The grim discovery ended a four-day search centered in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood, where police made a plea to the public to look through their Dumpsters and outdoor trash bins for the girl's body.

"The body was found in much like we were expecting to look for," said Lt. Ron Saunier, with the Denver Police Department. "This is an emotional deal," he said. "Anytime you have a kid involved, it is a tragic situation."

Police believe they believe Niveah was dumped by her mother's boyfriend Friday afternoon. .....

EXCERPT: "It is a shame that this happened and the truth is, the man who we all think around here is the father, should have never been allowed to see her," said Elizabeth Murray, the grandmother's next door neighbor. "Because something like this was bound to happen, he was crazy."

Montoya's arrest affidavit also stated that in July 2006, Montoya was investigated in connection with an alleged sexual assault on "a victim." The case was dropped because Gallegos would not cooperate with police.

Meanwhile, neighbors living near Niveah's grandmother's house said they often saw Gallegos and Montoya yelling at each other in the street. They said Niveah and Gallegos lived at the grandmother's home for a while, and that the grandmother basically raised the child.

"(The grandmother) is a mess. She's walking around all the alleys and checking all the trash cans trying to look for her granddaughter," said Murray. "It's just a shame that that man got ahold of that little baby because that never should have happened."

continued:
Child's Body Found In Trash Bag

[Zoey]

To you Niveah - my heart goes out to you for the pain you suffered at the hands of these monsters. You are in a better place now, where no one will ever hurt you again.

[odette]

Exclusive: Girl Showed Signs Of Sex Assault

-- Denver Human Services Closed Case, Saying Allegations Unfounded --

ABC7 - THE DENVER CHANNEL -POSTED: 9:53 pm MDT September 25, 2007 - UPDATED: 11:55 pm MDT September 25, 2007

DENVER -- The death of 3-year-old Niveah Gallegos is not only being investigated by Denver police, it's now being investigated by the Colorado Department of Human Services.

Last year, both Denver Human Services and the Denver Police Department investigated reports that the girl was sexually assaulted.

The only suspect in that case, Angel Ray Montoya, is now behind bars, accused of killing her and dumping her body in a ravine.

In July 2006, Niveah was found to be bleeding in her diaper after a stay with her mother's boyfriend -- Montoya.

She was taken to the doctor and then examined at the Denver Family Crisis Center, where both Denver police and the Denver Department of Human Services got involved.

When examined at the crisis center, sources familiar with the case told 7NEWS that doctors confirmed that the child showed signs of sexual assault. .....

continued:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...48/detail.html

[odette]

Makeshift Memorials Pay Tribute To Niveah Gallegos

Jaclyn Allen, 7NEWS Reporter - UPDATED: 8:16 pm MDT September 25, 2007

3-YEAR-OLD GIRL KILLED
# Images: Search For Missing Girl
# Video: Signs Of Sexual Assault
# Video: Community Mourns Girl
# Video: Girl's Body Found
# Video: Arrest Affidavits Released
# Video: Search Moves Into Third Day
# Video: Police Ask What Happened?
# Video: Public Asked To Search
# Video: Suspect Captured
# Arrest Affidavit: Miriam Gallegos
# Arrest Affidavit: Angel Montoya

DENVER, Colo. -- As the investigation moves forward into the death of a 3-year-old Denver girl, the community pauses to pay tribute.

Two makeshift memorials now stand near the ravine where police found the body of Niveah Gallegos Monday afternoon.

A steady stream of people stopped to pray or to cry throughout the day Tuesday.

A church near where the Gallegos body was found plans to hold a candlelight vigil Wednesday night around 7 p.m. .....

continued:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...69/detail.html

[odette]

Strangers pause to remember young murder victim

Passersby to the site where Nevaeh Gallegos' body was found stop to honor her memory

CW2 - by Ginger Delgado, News2 - September 25, 2007

DENVER (KWGN) — Dozens of strangers on Tuesday came to the site where the body of 3-year-old Nevaeh Gallegos was found, to pay their respects to a little girl they never knew.

Ray Perez says he felt moved to make a wooden cross. It's not something he expected to do today, but rather something he wanted to do for Nevaeh.

"This is the first time I've ever done this and it feels good. I just felt like I had to stop to do this," said Perez, and so on the way home, along a path he walks every day, Perez stopped to nail a cross for the tiny victim. The girl's body was found in the area Monday night wrapped in a trash bag. .....

continued:
Strangers pause to remember young murder victim

[odette]

3-year-old positively ID'd

By Kirk Mitchell - Denver Post Staff Writer - Article Launched: 09/26/2007 11:57:40 AM MDT

The Denver coroner's office has confirmed that the body of a child discarded in Dry Gulch Park to be that of Niveah Gallegos.

But the autopsy report, which will determine the cause of death, could take months to complete because of all the tests that need to be done, said Michelle Weiss-Samaras, Denver's chief deputy coroner. .....

http://test.denverpost.com/news/ci_7004934

[odette]

State investigates agencies' handling of Niveah case

-- Girl's alleged killer violated probation in child-abuse case --

By Myung Oak Kim and Julie Poppen - Rocky Mountain News - September 26, 2007

The Colorado Department of Human Services is launching an investigation into the involvement of child welfare agencies with the 3-year-old girl whose body was found Monday in west Denver.

Niveah Gallegos was allegedly killed by her mother's boyfriend, Angel Ray Montoya, and dumped in a ravine, authorities said.

The Denver Department of Human Services received a report in July 2006 that Montoya may have been sexually abusing the girl.

At that time, Denver police began investigating reports that Montoya was molesting Niveah, but the probe stalled because the girl's mother refused to cooperate, according to a police statement supporting Montoya's arrest in Niveah's Friday disappearance.

Montoya was a repeat sex offender with a prior conviction for assaulting a 4-year-old boy and failing to register as a sex offender with police. .....

continued:
State investigates agencies' handling of Niveah case

[odette]

Mom stalled '06 complaint

-- Police were unable to proceed in sex-assault investigation --

By Arthur Kane Denver Post Staff Writer - Article Launched: 09/26/2007 01:00:00 AM MDT

A complaint that a sexual assault may have been committed against a Denver girl who was later killed was made to police by someone with the Denver Department of Human Services.

But while police said they could not gather enough evidence to prosecute Angel Ray Montoya, 22, for allegedly sexually assaulting Niveah Gallegos last year, it is unclear what Human Services did to protect the girl before her death Friday.

Niveah's death comes about four months after another boy, Chandler Grafner, died after Denver Human Services workers did not investigate a complaint from his school that he had been missing for a month.

The Colorado Department of Human Services announced Tuesday that it would do a fatality review in the Gallegos case, which should be completed within 45 days of her death. .....

continued:
http://origin.denverpost.com/ci_6998714

[odette]

Neighbors build memorial for little girl

By Julie Poppen - Rocky Mountain News - September 25, 2007

The man who police suspect killed a 3-year-old girl and dumped her body in a ravine had gotten out of jail in July and was not under court supervision when he was arrested.

Authorities on Tuesday said that 22-year-old Angel Ray Montoya served six months in Denver County Jail for violating terms of his probation in a 2005 child-abuse case — not involving Niveah Gallegos — after not reporting to his probation officer or attending parenting classes. .....

EXCERPT: Montoya is a registered sex offender who, as a juvenile, was picked up at least three times between 1999 and 2002 for indecent exposure. His juvenile records remain sealed.

He served an 180-day sentence in 2003 related to one of the indecent-exposure charges, said Denver Sheriff's Capt. Frank Gale.

Montoya was given credit for time served when he was slapped with a 60-day jail sentence for failing to register as a sex offender in 2003.

Since then Montoya has registered eight times and his name appears on a list of the state's 9,616 sex offenders. The state requires offenders to register yearly or twice a year or when they move.

Montoya also served three months in jail in 2005 on a misdemeanor child abuse conviction. He was placed on probation when he was released in July 2005, but he violated the terms of probation and was sent back to jail.

continued:
Neighbors build memorial for little girl

[odette]

Hundreds attend vigil for tiny victim

By Kieran Nicholson - Denver Post Staff Writer - Article Launched: 09/26/2007 03:55:19 PM MDT

Hundreds of people showed up tonightnight at a candle-light vigil in west Denver to celebrate the short life of a 3-year-old girl whose body was found in a nearby shallow ravine.

The Set Free Church of Denver, 1001 Perry St., and other nearby churches lead family members and friends of the child, Niveah Gallegos, and more than 200 supporters in prayer and song.

A memorial made up mostly of teddy bears, pink ballons and flowers filled a rock garden on the edge of Lakewood Gulch Park along Perry Street between 10th and 13th Avenues. Another, smaller memorial, including a wooden cross with the girl's name spelled out on it, rose along the ravine nearby when the girl's body was found Monday.

Many in the crowd silently wiped away tears and at least one man wept openly, sobbing and crying aloud. .....

continued:
http://www.denverpost.com/technology/ci_7006320

[odette]

Suspects In Murder Of Toddler Under Suicide Watch

CBS4 DENVER - Raj Chohan - Sep 26, 2007 7:18 pm US/Mountain

(CBS4) DENVER - The mother of a child found dead in a ravine this week is now under suicide watch in jail and state social services is investigating what the young victim had been through in her short life.

Angel Ray Montoya, suspected in the death of 3-year-old Neveah Gallegos, was suspected of sexually abusing her a year ago.

Neveah's Mother, Miriam Gallegos, and Montoya are both under suicide watch in jail after telling corrections officers they wanted to kill themselves. CBS4 found out after asking to interview them Wednesday.

At a make-shift memorial in the park where police found the body of Neveah, there's unmistakable heartbreak, even among those who'd never met the child.

"It was really sad, really, you could almost feel it in the air," Robert Lee from Set Free Church said. .....

continued:
Suspects In Murder Of Toddler Under Suicide Watch

[odette]

Candlelight Vigil Held for 3-Year-Old Neveah Gallegos

-- Dozens gather at ravine where Neveah's body was found --

MYFOX - COLARDO - By KIM POSEY, Reporter - Last Edited: Tuesday, 25 Sep 2007, 9:51 PM MDT

DENVER -- Dozens of people gathered Tuesday night near 11th and Perry to remember 3-year-old Neveah Gallegos. A body- believed to be Neveah was found in a ravine near there Monday night.

"We lost an Angel," one man said to the crowd. They lit candles and said prayers. ....

continued:
Candlelight Vigil Held for 3-Year-Old Neveah Gallegos

Dozens laid flowers and stuffed animals along the ravine where
the body of Neveah Gallegos was found.
September 25 - 2007

[One2Snoop]

Originally Posted by odette

Exclusive: Girl Showed Signs Of Sex Assault

-- Denver Human Services Closed Case, Saying Allegations Unfounded --

ABC7 - THE DENVER CHANNEL -POSTED: 9:53 pm MDT September 25, 2007 - UPDATED: 11:55 pm MDT September 25, 2007

DENVER -- The death of 3-year-old Niveah Gallegos is not only being investigated by Denver police, it's now being investigated by the Colorado Department of Human Services.

Last year, both Denver Human Services and the Denver Police Department investigated reports that the girl was sexually assaulted.

The only suspect in that case, Angel Ray Montoya, is now behind bars, accused of killing her and dumping her body in a ravine.

In July 2006, Niveah was found to be bleeding in her diaper after a stay with her mother's boyfriend -- Montoya.

She was taken to the doctor and then examined at the Denver Family Crisis Center, where both Denver police and the Denver Department of Human Services got involved.

When examined at the crisis center, sources familiar with the case told 7NEWS that doctors confirmed that the child showed signs of sexual assault. .....

continued:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...48/detail.html

String him up by his you know what and be done with him. What the heck is wrong with this perverted sob? She's a 3yr old little girl for cripes sake.

For Niveah You're in gods hands now precious angel.

[odette]

Originally Posted by One2Snoop

String him up by his you know what and be done with him. What the heck is wrong with this perverted sob? She's a 3yr old little girl for cripes sake.

For Niveah You're in gods hands now precious angel.

I see in the article, which you just quoted, that the abusing was happening when little Neveah was just 23 months old!!.

For Little Neveah

[dallasvic]

Originally Posted by One2Snoop

String him up by his you know what and be done with him. What the heck is wrong with this perverted sob? She's a 3yr old little girl for cripes sake.

For Niveah You're in gods hands now precious angel.

You took the word right out of my mouth

for Nive