An 8-month-old girl died after she was strangled last week in Leesburg, Virginia, and the man charged in her death faces an immigration detainer and additional charges, including murder, according to police.
Alvaro Mejia Ayala, now 22, was arrested and charged with strangulation Sept. 17, the day he’s accused of choking his baby sister, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Leesburg police are not releasing the child’s identity at the request of the family.
Officers responded to Hancock Place NE in Leesburg around 10 a.m. on Sept. 17 for a call involving an infant in medical distress. Despite extensive efforts from first responders and medical professionals to save her life, the child died on Tuesday.
Ayala left the scene before officers arrived, according to Leesburg Police Chief Thea Pirnat, but was found several hours later and will face additional charges, including murder. He is currently being held at the county’s detention center.
“The entire process may take several months and this is considered a very active investigation,” Pirnat said during a news conference Tuesday. “Let me be clear, this was not an accident. A child was murdered in a deliberate act. The Leesburg Police Department and our criminal justice partners are fully committed to ensuring that the person responsible is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Police did not release additional details about the circumstances of the child’s death.
“We will continue to provide information when it is legally and ethically appropriate to do so, but we will not be prematurely releasing details that could compromise the integrity of this investigation or derail the pursuit of justice,” Pirnat said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also issued an immigration detainer for Ayala, according to Pirnat, which requests the jail to hold him for 48 hours longer than the time he’d be released so ICE can take him into federal custody.
In a news release, the Department of Homeland Security said Ayala entered the U.S. with his family in 2016 from El Salvador and that his immigration case was dismissed in October 2024.
“The death of a child is an unbearable loss, and this one has deeply affected the involved family, our community and every first responder that was called to help,” Pirnat said.
Ayala is expected in court in November.
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