Clark County coroner can’t determine how 3-month-old baby died

More than a year after a 3-month-old baby was found dead in a North Las Vegas dumpster, the Clark County coroner’s office has said it cannot determine how the infant died.

Jessie Ramos was found dead just before 9 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2020, in an alley dumpster on the 2500 block of Carroll Street, near Las Vegas Boulevard North, the North Las Vegas Police Department has said. The coroner’s office on Wednesday said the infant’s cause and manner of death were ruled “undetermined.”

The baby’s parents, 52-year-old Raul Ramos and 32-year-old Adriana Hernandez, were arrested on Jan. 24, 2020, on felony counts of child abuse or neglect and a gross misdemeanor count of destroying or concealing evidence, court records show.

According to their arrest reports, Ramos and Hernandez told police that they had been using methamphetamine on Jan. 18 when they put Jessie on a bed because he was crying. They told police that his face was to the side when they put him down, but after a few minutes the baby was lying face down and was not breathing.

North Las Vegas police have said the couple were arrested at a hotel on the 2400 block of Las Vegas Boulevard North — the block number of the Casa Blanca Hotel, which is less than a half-mile from where Jessie’s body was found.

The couple were released from jail shortly after their arrests, after prosecutors said they needed more time to prepare charges.

They did not appear in jail records Wednesday, and according to the district attorney’s office, the parents have not been formally charged.

“These cases are still with our screening team awaiting additional information from law enforcement,” the office said in a statement Wednesday.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Sabrina Schnur contributed to this report.