HOUSTON – A woman who police said gave birth inside a southwest Houston gas station bathroom admitted she made no attempt to check the newborn for signs of life, no attempt at CPR, and made no attempt at pulling the baby out of the toilet, according to charging documents.
Diana Guadalupe Zavalla Lopez, 25, is charged with tampering with evidence - human corpse. She was arrested Tuesday in Brownsville.
The charging documents said the body of the infant girl was found inside the toilet in the restroom of the gas station located in the 13000 block of S. Post Oak Road at about 4:25 a.m. on Sunday, April 2.
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The documents said officers with the Houston Police Department reviewed surveillance footage from the gas station showing a white Cadillac pull up to the gas station at 9:59 p.m. on Saturday, April 1. The footage showed a woman get out of the vehicle and enter the restroom.
The surveillance footage also showed the woman come out of the restroom with what appeared to be blood on her legs. She then walked back to the white Cadillac, got into the driver’s seat and drove away.
The documents said a person who had come to clean the restroom saw the baby in the toilet and originally thought the store clerk was playing a disgusting prank on him. He reported he thought it was a doll in the toilet.
The Houston Police Department released the surveillance video of the woman on July 31.
That same day, an FBI source informed an HPD detective the woman seen in the surveillance video was Diana Guadalupe Zavalla Lopez. The source also provided photos from the woman’s Facebook page which the detectives said was the same woman in the surveillance footage. The photos also showed the woman wearing the same necklace as the woman seen in the surveillance footage and also posing in front of a white Cadillac ATS.
On August 1, detectives noticed the Facebook account of the woman no longer existed. An Instagram account under the name Diana Zavalla was also put on private and the profile picture deleted. The name of the Instagram account was also changed.
Police also received multiple tips identifying the woman as Diana Zavalla Lopez. One of the tips identified her and listed her address at a Houston apartment complex. Another tip identified her and said her white Cadillac was seen at a location in south Houston and that she was packing her belongings to flee the country and go to Mexico.
According to the charging documents, police also interviewed Lopez’ mother and stepfather. They told detectives neither of them knew Lopez was pregnant until after the surveillance video was released and people were sending them the information. Lopez’ mother said she had suspicions about her being pregnant in February or March due to Lopez having sickness and pregnancy symptoms. They also said she had possibly been taking prenatal vitamins. Lopez’ mother said she confronted her about being pregnant and Lopez denied being pregnant at the time.
Police learned Lopez had been detained by Customs and Border Protection as she was trying to leave the country on August 1. Houston police detectives traveled to Brownsville to interview her.
The charging documents said during the interview, Lopez stated she didn’t know she was pregnant and had felt pain and contractions after leaving a party. She stopped at the gas station and went to the restroom. She initially stated she felt something come out of her, flushed the toilet and never looked into it.
Detectives said Lopez later said she felt the baby come out of her, turned around and saw the baby face down in the toilet. They also said she admitted she made no attempt to check the newborn for signs of life, no attempt at CPR, and no attempt to pull the baby out of the water.
Bond for Lopez has been set at $250,000.