Two Texas parents are accused of causing the death of their 12-year-old daughter after trying to treat her life-threatening injuries with smoothies and vitamins.
Dennis Balvaneda, 36, and Gerardo Gonzalez, 40, were arrested Tuesday and charged with negligent serious injury to a child, a first-degree felony. Bail was set at $200,000 for each.
Police said the girl, identified as Miranda Shipps, a cheerleader at Jourdanton Middle School, suffered life-threatening injuries on Aug. 8 and was returned to her mother and stepfather. New York PostThe parents then allegedly tried to treat the girl’s wounds with smoothies and vitamins rather than taking her to hospital immediately.
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Dennis Balvaneda, 36, and Gerardo Gonzalez, 40, are charged with negligence causing serious injury to a child. (Atascosa County Sheriff)
The Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that on Monday, four days after the girl was injured, Balvaneda called 911 at 8 p.m. to report her daughter was having respiratory issues.
“The investigation revealed that the girl’s parents did not seek medical assistance even though she was mentally and physically helpless and unresponsive,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “It appears that the girl’s mother finally called 911 when she began having difficulty breathing.”
Balvaneda had planned to drive her daughter to the hospital herself, but dispatchers instructed her to pull over to the side of the highway so emergency services could meet her there and take her daughter to the hospital.
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The girl’s mother called 911 at 8 p.m. on Monday, four days after the girl was injured, to report her daughter was having respiratory problems. (iStock)
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The girl was unconscious but alive when emergency responders arrived and was taken to hospital where she was later confirmed dead.
The sheriff’s office continues to investigate the circumstances of the injuries that led to the child’s death.
