Deceased’s Mother Denise Balbaneda and stepfather Gerald Gonzalez. (Image: Facebook/@Sheriff David Soward, Atascosa County, Texas)
The parents waited four days after the girl was injured before calling emergency services, only doing so when she began struggling to breathe.
A 12-year-old girl in Texas died after her parents tried to treat her injuries with smoothies and vitamins on Monday.
Miranda Sipps who mysteriously suffered “life-threatening” injuries was not given proper medical attention by her mother Denise Balbaneda (36) and stepfather Gerald Gonzalez (40).
The parents waited four days after the girl was injured before calling emergency services, only doing so when she began struggling to breathe. In a strange turn of events, after making the call, the mother took the girl and left the house in a car, reportedly to avoid having the police inside their home.
However, the car was stopped by police near a highway and Miranda was found unconscious but alive inside the vehicle. She was rushed to the hospital but declared dead soon after.
Investigation revealed that the parents did not seek medical help for the girl during the four days while she was “mentally and physically incapacitated and non-responsive”.
According to local media reports, the couple kept the daughter at home for four days after she suffered injuries and allegedly fed her smoothies and vitamins even for recovery. They might have tried to give her oxygen in an attempt to revive her, officials alleged.
“Basically they thought they could nurse her back to health and we do not think they wanted the attention that this would draw if the little girl was injured,” Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward told local media.
The parents informed authorities that during the four days leading up to their daughter’s death, she was only able to “flutter her eyes and move her hands slightly.”
The cause of her severe injuries remains unknown, and an autopsy is being conducted to determine the nature of the trauma.
Meanwhile, the police have arrested the mother and stepfather and charged them with causing serious bodily injury to a child.