A Texas parent, 33-year-old V. GonzaIes, was arrested and charged with causing serious bodily injury to a child after Texas authorities discovered her child severely malnourished and confined in a closet. The incident has also spurred a new hunt for the defendant’s other child, 9, who has been missing for eight years.
The investigation began in April of this year, when the victim’s grandmother called the police after discovering her 7-year-old grandchild locked in a closet at their home. The infant was discovered starving, underweight, and weighing barely 29 pounds. She was immediately sent to Children’s Medical Center, where medical assessments found that she had moderate to severe cerebral atrophy as a result of extended hunger, a condition from which she is unlikely to recover completely.
According to police documents, the youngster had been confined to a three-foot by two-foot closet for about a month, with only one corn dog and half a cup of water every day. The defendant allegedly utilized this confinement to discipline the child’s behavioral difficulties, which included incontinence and attempting to acquire food.
Investigators discovered six additional children, ranging in age from two to fourteen, living in the house. Although these children appeared to be in decent physical condition, their lack of school enrollment raised further concerns about their well-being.
The issue became more concerning when police discovered that the defendant’s other kid, 9, had not been seen since December 2017, when she was 2 years old. The defendant had never reported the girl missing and had given family members inconsistent information concerning her location.
The police department has since initiated a search for the child, sharing both a toddler photo and an age-progressed photo with the public. According to Texas authorities, the closet victim endured lifelong brain damage and hunger as a result of his captivity. The closet where the girl was supposedly kept was barricaded.
The defendant was caught by the United States Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and is currently being held at the county detention facility on a $75,000 bond. She is charged with a first-degree felony for causing serious physical damage to a kid.
