Man who ‘crammed’ baby into backpack for hours while he worked faces murder charges after infant dies

The baby would have turned one in two months' time, said her father

Trevor Marquis Rowe has been charged with capital murder of a 10-month-old baby (Lubbock Police Department)

A man has been charged with capital murder after a 10-month-old girl he “crammed” into a backpack and left in the trunk of his car died.

Marion Jester-Montoya was the daughter of 27-year-old Trevor Marquis Rowe’s girlfriend. She died on Tuesday in the city of Lubbock in northwest Texas.

Rowe’s bond has been set at US$2 million and he is being held at the Lubbock County Detention Centre.

According to Lubbock police, Rowe picked up Jester-Montoya from her mother’s residence Tuesday morning and brought her to his workplace.

Rowe told police he "crammed" the baby into a backpack and checked on the her “periodically”.

After his lunch break, police said he moved her to the trunk of his car, where she stayed for “several hours”.

Rowe said the baby was “lightly crying but breathing” when he checked on her during his lunch break, reported local newspaper Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

But almost five hours later at 4.50pm, she had turned white and was not breathing.

“He then called 911 and drove to the intersection of 130^th and Upland Avenue where he started CPR and waited for EMS,” said police documents.

First responders rushed Jester-Montoya to a hospital, but she was pronounced dead on arrival.

According to the warrant, Rowe “advised he knew that placing a person into a trunk was dangerous to human life”.

“Trevor Rowe advised that placing someone into a backpack was even more dangerous.”

He also told the police the baby had not eaten since 8pm the night before.

The child’s father, Emilio Montoya, told news station KCBD that his daughter was only two months away from turning one and was “actually learning to walk”.