Couple charged with death of 4-year-old

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - An Albuquerque man and his wife have been charged with the death of his 4 -year old daughter.

Saturday just before midnight rescuers were called to the couple's trailer on William Street in southeast Albuquerque because the girl was barely breathing.

Paramedics were unable to revive the girl, and she was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Doctors say the girl had a suspicious head injury along with scratches and bruises in various stages of healing all over her body.

Investigators say when they interviewed Gayla Hernandez, the girl's stepmother, and her father, Anthony Chavez, they gave a number of different explanations about the girl's injuries.  (Gayla Hernandez is listed in jail records as Gayla Eloisa Gallegos.)

They variously said she fell off her scooter, was attacked by a pit bull, scratched herself when she slept and even blamed the "rats" in their house.

Doctors who treated the girl and performed the autopsy both agree the girl's injuries are inconsistent with an accident. Investigators say when the informed the couple that their daughter had died they say they showed no emotion.

The girl's mother told deputies her daughter had only been with her father for three days before her death.

Chavez and Hernandez are both charged with child abuse resulting in death.

Both have a criminal history. Chavez has been arrested for drug charges and child abuse in 2006 after he was found with crack cocaine and a gun in a vehicle along with four kids. Hernandez has a history of theft.