Gerald Gonzales and Denise Balbaneda were accused of injuring a child by omission that resulted in significant physical harm.
Two Texas parents are accused of trying to use smoothies and vitamins to heal their 12-year-old daughter’s potentially fatal injuries, which has led to her death.
Following their arrest on Tuesday, Denise Balbaneda, 36, and Gerald Gonzales, 40, were charged with harm to a child inflicting serious bodily injury by omission, a first-degree felony. A $200,000 bail was imposed on each of them.
According to the New York Post, Miranda Sipps, a Jourdanton Junior High School cheerleader, suffered serious and perhaps fatal injuries on August 8 and was sent home by her mother and stepfather. The girl’s parents apparently tried using smoothies and vitamins to heal her injuries instead of sending her to the hospital right away.
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In a news statement, the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office stated that Balbaneda reported her daughter’s respiratory problems to 911 at 8 p.m. on Monday, four days after the youngster was hurt.
“The investigation revealed the parents failed to seek medical assistance for the girl, even though she was mentally and physically incapacitated and non-responsive,” the announcement from the sheriff’s office stated. “It appears the mother finally called 9-1-1 when the girl went into respiratory distress.”
While Balbaneda was trying to drive her daughter to the hospital on her own, dispatchers instructed her to pull over on the side of the highway so that EMS could meet her there and transfer the kid to the hospital.
