A Texas woman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a plea deal for fatally stabbing her newborn in 2022 in Nunn.
In turn, the Weld County District Attorney’s Office dismissed charges of first-degree murder after deliberation and first-degree murder of a person under 12 by someone in a position of trust against 21-year-old Leiyla Cepeda, court records show.
Cepeda will be sentenced Jan. 16 in Division 12 of Weld County District Court. The sentencing range for second-degree murder in Colorado is 16 to 48 years in prison.
Cepeda was arrested in June 2022 and charged with two counts of suspected first-degree murder after police said she repeatedly stabbed her newborn with a pair of scissors. Cepeda was 17, just two days short of her 18th birthday, at the time of the stabbing and was charged as an adult.
Cepeda gave birth to a baby girl in Nunn while visiting from Texas. After cutting the umbilical cord, Cepeda stabbed the baby more than 70 times with a pair of scissors, according to police. Investigators say Cepeda then wrapped the baby in a sweater before going to a bathroom to take a shower.
A family member of Cepeda noticed a trail of blood when he got up to use the restroom and called 911 after finding the baby.
Cepeda’s defense argued she should be tried as a juvenile, but after a lengthy reverse-transfer hearing, former Judge Meghan Saleebey ruled the case would stay in Weld District Court. Saleebey found probable cause to support that Cepeda’s suspected crimes were “premeditated, aggressive, willful and violent acts with deliberation and intent,” citing a report from the Weld Coroner detailing that the stab wounds were repetitive and clustered toward the chest.
Judge Audrey Galloway took over the case from Saleebey, who retired from the District 12 bench in April 2024.
Prior to the plea deal, Cepeda had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to all three charges in August 2024.
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