A mother and her boyfriend, both Latinos, were arrested after being charged with murder in the death of their 8-year-old daughter in Texas, as well as the injuries suffered by the girl's twin sister, NBC News affiliate Click2Houston reported. .
The couple is accused of not feeding properly and of abusing the two little girls over a long period of time.
Rubén Moreno
, 29, and
Soledad Mendoza
, also 29, are each charged with capital murder of a minor under 10 years of age (a crime for which they can be sentenced to death), as well as two counts of bodily injury to a little boy.
Both were taken into custody on May 20 without incident, according to the Houston Police Department.
Prosecutors say 8-year-old Melanie Mendoza was extremely malnourished when she died at the hospital on Dec. 21, 2020, weighing just 29 pounds, wearing diapers and suffering from multiple injuries.
Detectives discovered that the girl had several broken ribs, several bruises on her legs and swollen ankles.
The autopsy also revealed that the girl had acute and chronic blunt force injuries to her back and legs.
He also had bruises and injuries to his head, upper body, torso and lower body, including a series of fractures from weeks before his death.
Soledad Mendoza and Rubén Moreno. Houston Police Department
The surviving twin was treated at a hospital the day after her sister's death.
According to the indictment, the girl only weighed 26.4 pounds (11.97 kilos).
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The minors had two other siblings who lived in the home and were apparently in perfect health, court documents reveal.
They were taken into custody by Child Protective Services and placed in a foster home.
“I am chief (prosecutor) of child deaths. I see nothing but deaths of children, and this one stands out
,” Deputy District Attorney Gilbert Sawtelle said, as reported by the local ABC.
“Not only because of the nature of the starvation and torture described, but because of the length of time it lasted.
This didn't start in Harris County.
It started in San Antonio,” he added.
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According to Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) records obtained here,
authorities knew the girls were malnourished
but never appeared to attempt to separate them from their mother.
Instead, the woman was given guidance so that the girls would be healthier and gain weight.
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According to court documents obtained by Click2Houston, on Feb. 23, 2021, the twin sister showed up to talk to detectives about her mother, allegedly telling them that her mother
was mean and that she was putting her in a closet in a garbage bag.
When asked what had happened to her sister, she revealed that her mother had killed her.
She told detectives that her mother put her in a garbage bag with her face in it and told her,
"It's because you're ugly and I don't love you
. "
The girl also said that her mother's boyfriend beat them every day.
The mother hit the daughter who died with a blunt object, kicked her and hit her again with her hand on December 21, 2020, according to the aforementioned media.
Moreno also allegedly beat her with a belt and a shoe and did not feed her.
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The first complaint about possible negligence was filed in San Antonio, Texas, on Oct. 1, 2018, records show.
The mom wouldn't let teachers give the girls breakfast and lunch at school, according to a report.
He told them they ate at home but, according to the documents, the girls were looking for food in trash cans and exhibiting other behaviors of concern to investigators.
Then, on Dec. 16, 2020, a teacher in a virtual class noticed that Melanie Mendoza had a black eye, according to a report started after the mother moved to Houston.
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Records show a DFPS investigator went to the home, but the mother said Melanie had a fever and was in isolation.
The investigator never entered the house and the minor died only five days later.
The mother is being held on $3 million bail on all three counts, including capital murder and two counts of injury to a child.
Moreno was denied bond on the capital murder charge and was granted a combined $2 million bond on the two counts of injury to a minor.
Moreno's court appearance scheduled for Monday morning was postponed to Wednesday, while Mendoza did not attend Monday morning's hearing because she was hospitalized.