Neveah's mother, boyfriend out of jail

Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 1, 2007 at midnight

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The mother and boyfriend suspected in the death of a 3-year-old girl whose body was dumped in a ravine are now free, following their release from jail this afternoon.

Prosecutors and police are waiting for the official autopsy report on Neveah Gallegos, which might take several weeks, before deciding whether to file charges against the pair, district attorney's office spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough said.

The DA's office successfully sought two extensions before formally filing charges. The deadline for filing charges was four.

"By law, suspects cannot be held in custody indefinitely," Kimbrough said.

Police arrested the girl's mother, Miriam Gallegos, 20, and her boyfriend, Angel Ray Montoya, 22, both of Denver, on Sept. 21, the day Neveah was reported missing.

Gallegos originally told police her daughter had been kidnapped in Denver by two men. But then she told police how she and her boyfriend, a registered sex offender, tried to cover up the child's death and stuffed her body into a white plastic bag.

The girl's body was found four days later in a ravine in Lakewood. The case sparked a four-day search involving dozens of police officers and volunteers.

The spot where Neveah's body was found has since become a site for public mourning over the young child's fate.

Legal analysts were divided today about prosecutors' decision to await autopsy results before filing charges.

Former prosecutor Craig Silverman said "wow" when he learned the couple had been released, but retired defense attorney Bob Ransome said "it really doesn't mean anything."

"It doesn't mean they think they didn't do it," Ransome said. "They can still file any case they want. I wouldn't be jumping to conclusions."

Ransome said he can't think of any charge the district attorney could have held Montoya on, including abuse of a corpse.

Silverman and former Denver District Attorney Norm Early both said prosecutors need to know what is in the final autopsy report before they proceed.

"It leads me to believe there were no obvious violent cause of death, no strangulation with ligature marks or stabbing injuries," Silverman said. "If there were, I don't think Angel Montoya would have been released."

Silverman said children can stop breathing because of asthma, choking or other causes, but traditionally their caregivers call 911.

"That didn't happen here," he noted.

The girl's mother told police that Montoya had called her at work to say she should come home. When she arrived, the child wasn't breathing.

Gallegos told police she and Montoya placed the child's body in a garbage bag and placed the bundle inside a duffel bag, police said. Police believe Montoya transported the body to the park.

The Denver coroner won't determine the manner and cause of death until they find out the results of toxicology and other tests.

"A decision on filing criminal charges cannot be made until we have all the facts, including final results from the medical examiner that won't be back for several weeks," District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said.

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.

Denver police in July 2006 investigated an allegation that Montoya had sexually abused Neveah. Police said the case was dropped because Gallegos would not cooperate.

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