Teens Plead in Baby’s Murder

Tuesday, July 2, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Also on Monday, Dale Aaron Guilbert, 17, pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder for helping to bury the child's body beneath a billboard near Interstate 80.

Juan Lopez, 18, admitted he killed the infant two hours after his girlfriend, Gabriella Dexter, gave birth in a park in January 1994.

Lopez faces five years to life and Guilbert faces up to five years when sentenced in September by District Judge Richard Wagner.

The baby's mother pleaded guilty last month to child endangerment causing death and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

Dexter was arrested May 30 after Lopez first confided in a clergyman, then went with his attorney to authorities to make a statement about the crime that occurred more than two years ago.

Dexter had hidden her pregnancy from family and friends.

Lopez told investigators that he killed the infant after Dexter gave the child to him and told him to "get rid of it."

An investigator's report said Lopez had wanted to take the child, born two months premature, to a hospital or leave it on a doorstep, but Dexter told him not to do that.

Lopez and Dexter then sought help from Guilbert. After dropping Dexter off at her car, the boys took the crying baby out to the desert, where Lopez drove over its head twice.

Guilbert helped bury the infant in a shallow grave and kept the couple's secret.

Lopez and Guilbert were popular students at Lowry High School, where both were chosen by their peers as candidates for Winterfest King.

Dexter, a Lowry junior, was described as a good student who worked after school as a secretary for a local law firm.