Authorities in Texas are investigating the death of a 12-year-old girl, who died on Aug. 13 after her parents failed to seek medical assistance for several days.
“An investigation by the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division into the death of a 12-year-old Christine girl and Jourdanton Jr. High School cheerleader was launched last night shortly before 10:00 p.m, according to an official release on social media by Sheriff David Soward on Aug. 14.
Soward identified the victim as Miranda Sipps at an Aug. 14 press conference, adding that she would have turned 13 later this month.
The Sheriff’s Office said that the previous evening, a Christine woman called 911 asking for medical assistance. Christine is a town 45 miles away from San Antonio.
According to the post, dispatchers from the Sheriff’s Office stopped the mother as she was driving with her daughter on Highway 16 South and FM 140, where emergency responders met her. Her daughter was alive but unconscious and was immediately taken to Atascosa Methodist Hospital for treatment.
However, despite attempts to treat the girl, she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead shortly before 10 p.m.
The Sheriff’s Office, along with CID investigators, immediately launched an inquiry into how the child sustained her injuries. It was later determined that she sustained life-threatening injuries several days prior, on Aug. 8, according to the release.
Soward said Miranda was unconscious during the press conference, “She basically could flutter her eyes and move her hands a little bit over a four-day period, they had her laying on a pallet in the house.”
“I will not in this point of time go into the injuries, the details of the injuries or how they happened because I am not 100 percent sure,” the Sheriff added.
Following the incident, the girl’s mother and stepfather, who the Sheriff’s Office identified as 36-year-old Denise Balbaneda and 40-year-old Gerald Gonzales, were arrested at their home on Aug. 13.
Both were charged with a first-degree felony of Injury to a Child and Causing Serious Bodily Injury by Omission, the release states.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, no bond had been set as of Aug. 13. Meanwhile, the investigation is ongoing, and authorities are awaiting the results of an autopsy.
NTD contacted the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office for further information but did not hear back before publication time.