The Maricopa County Attorney's Office said the grandmother of an epilepsy girl who died after police said she was locked up in a makeshift cage for a long time, and was locked up in a makeshift cage for a long time. I stated.
Virginia Lujean, 55, was charged with child abuse and other crimes following the death of his granddaughter last month. She suffered from a rare form of epilepsy and was able to function at the age of 3 with cognitive impairment.
Lujan called 911 on Jan. 20 to report that her granddaughter had not responded in a two-storey townhouse in Tempe, near US 60, prosecutors said.
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When officers arrived, they found a girl lying on the floor of her living room with marks and bruises on multiple parts of her body. She was taken to the hospital, where she died the next day.
Virginia Lujean, 55, was charged with child abuse and other crimes after her granddaughter died after not responding at home.
“Children must endure the pain,” city police chief Ken McCoy said the day after her death, according to Fox 10.
“We are committed to revealing the truth and seeking justice on her behalf. The tragic loss of a child is our common responsibility to protect the most vulnerable people in our community. It's a deep reminder of this.”
Police said they discovered bunk beds adapted to makeshift enclosures that the victim had been kept for a long time, along with severely unsanitary conditions throughout their home.
According to the police Fox 10 PhoenixLujean's house is described as “disorderly and filthy,” and with trash scattered across the floor of the house, there are dead insects that seem to be seen in various parts of the house.
The grandmother of an epilepsy-laden teenage girl who died after police said she had been locked in a makeshift cage for a long time. Police will speak at a press conference the day after her death. (Fox 10 Phoenix)
According to court documents cited by Fox 10, when investigating where the girl was located, police said, as well as the bunk beds inside, but there was no bed or mattress on the bottom. I discovered it.
Instead, the tall bed frame created a space under the top bed.
A large rail, large enough to surround the long right side of the bed, and another rail with a plastic baby gate, was found in this bed. Together, these items were attached to the frame as walls of enclosures or cages, the outlet reported.
These components were held together with plastic zip ties. Police also said there was human waste on the floor inside the enclosure.
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Investigators said the victim was one of five children belonging to Rujean's daughter, 33-year-old Jamie Hodges. They ranged from 2 to 15 years old.
In 2021, Hodges moved four of his five children's guardianship to Lujean, and at the time of the victim's death, she said that she was due to structural issues that forced her out of her previous home, according to Fox 10. I moved with my mother.
They lived in a sloppy space inside her three-bedroom townhouse, police said.
The family lived in a “disorderly and filthy” three-bedroom townhouse, police said. (Fox 10 Phoenix)
Hodges and her 2-year-old daughter slept in the living room on the main floor, while Lujean had her own bedroom on the second floor. The remaining children shared the remaining two bedrooms, investigators wrote in court documents.
They also wrote that none of the Hodges children have enrolled or attended school.
Hodges noticed that the victim was “acting” when he returned home from a dentist on January 21, and a massive rash beneath the victim's armpit, according to a police report cited by Fox 10. He said he noticed that he had seen the discoloration. Behind her legs.
The girls were later turned and Tempe Police Station officials and Tempe Fire Medical Rescue crew members were called to the house around 9pm
Lujean told his first responder that the victim had collapsed a few days ago, investigators wrote.
The victim was found to be covered with bruises on various parts of her body. Bruises were described as being in various stages of healing, but dry blood was found in the right ear, making the face appear swollen.
Tempe Police Station vehicle. Department police responded to the scene. (Caitlin O'Hara/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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The victim was taken to hospital and was declared dead several hours later.
Hodges was arrested, but was accused and released.
Lujan is currently being held on a $500,000 secured appearance bond, according to the Maricopa County Law Office.
She is also accused of tampering with physical evidence and tampering with contributing to the addiction of the witness and three counts of children.
