A Texas couple have reportedly been charged with causing the death of their 12-year-old daughter by neglecting medical care after spending four days trying to heal “life-threatening” injuries with smoothies and vitamins.
“The investigation revealed that the parents failed to seek medical attention for the girl, even though she was mentally and physically incapacitated and unconscious,” Atascosa County, Texas Sheriff David Soward said in a press release.
Police have opened an investigation into the death of young Miranda Sipps, who died Monday night after spending four days lying in bed with serious injuries, when she should have been seen by a medical team, the New York Post reported.
The investigation found that the girl, who was a cheerleader at Jourdanton Jr. High School, began suffering “life-threatening” injuries on Aug. 8, the statement said.
However, the nature of these injuries was not specified by the sheriff, who would have only indicated that the victim did not have any broken bones, according to the American media.
Screenshot taken from Facebook
Except that instead of taking her to a hospital, her mother Denise Balbaneda, 36, and her stepfather Gerald Gonzales, 40, would have tried to treat her by feeding her smoothies and vitamins even if she did not respond, the sheriff would have added to the local media My San Antonio.
The little victim could only “blink his eyes and move his hands a little,” he told local media.
“We think they wanted to avoid the attention that would come if the little girl was hurt. Which is strangely ironic, but that was their thinking,” David Soward reportedly commented.
Screenshot taken from Facebook
As the investigation continues, the couple was placed under arrest Tuesday and are reportedly facing charges of causing serious bodily injury to a child by failure to provide care resulting in death, a first-degree felony, according to the NYP.
