Texas – V. Gonzales, a 33-year-old Texas parent, 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 prompted a renewed search for the defendant’s other child, nine, 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 seven-year-old grandchild barricaded in a closet at their home.
The child was discovered starving, emaciated, and weighing only twenty-nine pounds. She was immediately transported to Children’s Medical Center, where medical evaluations revealed that she had moderate to severe cerebral atrophy as a result of prolonged starvation, a condition from which she is unlikely to recover completely.
According to arrest affidavits, the child had been confined to a three-by-two-foot closet for about a month, receiving only one corndog and half a cup of water per day. The defendant allegedly used confinement to punish the child’s behavioral issues, such as incontinence and attempting to access food.
Further investigation revealed that six other children, ranging in age from two to fourteen, lived in the house. While the children appeared to be in good physical health, none were enrolled in school, raising further concerns about their well-being.
The case became more alarming when authorities discovered that the defendant’s other child, 9, had not been seen since December 2017, when she was two years old. The defendant had never reported the child missing and gave family members conflicting information about her whereabouts.
The Police Department has since launched a search for the child, releasing photos of her as a toddler and as she grew older. According to Texas authorities, the closet victim’s imprisonment resulted in permanent brain damage and prolonged starvation. The closet where the girl was allegedly detained was barricaded.
The defendant was apprehended by the US Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force and is currently being held in the county correctional complex on a $75,000 bond. She faces a first-degree felony charge of causing serious bodily harm to a child.
