Teen Father Behind Bars, Charged with Murdering Baby Daughter

Stephanie Ramirez lives in the apartment complex across the street from the Middleton Apartments and she is shocked to hear about the murder.

"What would cause someone to do that to their own baby," she asked.  "It's crazy,"

Police received a call at 8:55 a.m. Tuesday morning about a four month old baby girl who had stopped breathing in room 108 at the Middleton Apartments.   

Gracie Casteneda's friend lives at the complex and she drove by Tuesday morning.

"I showed up about 9, 9:30 I believe and that's when I'd seen all the ambulances, police, fire trucks, and I was just wondering what was going on," Casteneda said.

The baby was rushed to UMC where she was pronounced dead. 

"Just to know that a baby had been murdered in the apartments that I live in makes you second guess where you're living," said Jimmy Pittman, a resident at the Middleton Apartments.

"I have nieces and nephews that run in and out of here so it does definitely give you a second thought."

Although apartment residents say they see police patrolling the area, they never thought something like this could happen here.

"It's just a baby!  What's a baby going to do to you?" Asked neighbor Dianne Saenz.

"I can't believe he did this to his own child," said Ramirez.

But Zach Gaona knew the teen was capable of murder.  Gaona lives directly above Tanguma and has hung out with the teen father multiple times. 

Gaona said Tanguma is always beating up the baby's mother and it was only a matter of time before the 19-year-old turned his anger on his own daughter.

"I was waiting for it to happen," said Gaona.  "He's always throwing the baby's momma around.  You can just tell by the way he gets mad easy that he's not physically, emotionally, mentally stable."