A Texas mother is facing felony charges for locking her 7-year-old daughter in a dark closet with no access to food or a bathroom due to bladder issues and “always getting into stuff,” as reported by the child’s siblings and police.
Virginia Gonzales, 33, is charged with causing serious bodily injury to a child after her daughter was found soiled, severely malnourished, and weighing 29 pounds after spending several weeks inside a closet, according to court documents obtained by local ABC affiliate KVUE.
The girl was discovered by her grandmother at her mother’s home in Austin.
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Gonzales allegedly ordered the girl’s six siblings to keep her locked inside the small space, which measures about 3 feet by 1 foot, 10 inches, according to KVUE.
According to police, the children, ages 2 to 14, told their grandmother that Gonzales was punishing the girl for “getting into stuff” and eating things she wasn’t supposed to.
The victim’s 10-year-old brother claimed that the girl was only allowed to eat one corn dog per day and was given a half-cup of water. Her siblings say she defecated and urinated inside the closet.
Austin police have placed the children in protective custody and are now looking for another Gonzales girl, Ava, who has been missing since 2017. According to a press release, she went missing at the age of nine.
Cops claim the closet victim suffered permanent brain damage and prolonged starvation as a result of the imprisonment, which was discovered on April 3. The closet where the girl was allegedly detained was barricaded.
Authorities have asked anyone with information about the missing sibling, Ava, to contact the Austin Police Department.
