A 12-year-old Texas girl died on Monday after her mother and stepfather refused to seek medical assistance for four days after suffering life-threatening injuries, instead attempting to nurse her back to health with smoothies, according to officials.
Miranda Sipps, a cheerleader at Jourdanton Junior High School in Christine, Texas, was found in severe condition after her mother contacted 911 on Monday evening, according to an Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office release. Christine is a small hamlet located approximately 45 miles south of San Antonio.
Emergency responders found Sipps and her mother on the highway after they left their home and took the unconscious youngster to the hospital, according to officials. Sipps was declared dead in the emergency room shortly after she arrived.
The sheriff’s office conducted an inquiry and discovered that Sipps had suffered severe and life-threatening injuries the previous Thursday. Sipps’ mother and stepfather did not seek medical attention for her for the next four days, even though she was mostly unconscious. There were no other children in the home.
“She was not speaking. She could only flutter her eyes and move her hands somewhat during four days,” Sheriff David Soward stated at a press conference, “and they had her laying on a pallet in the house.”
Soward stated that Sipps’ parents attempted to cure her injuries by giving her vitamin-enriched smoothies. On Monday evening, the girl’s condition worsened and she began having difficulty breathing, prompting her mother to phone 911.
“They were attempting to give her smoothies, but somebody unconscious is not able to drink,” Soward said.”
Denise Balbaneda, 36, and Gerald Gonzales, 40, were the mother and stepfather, respectively. Both were detained on Tuesday afternoon and charged with a first-degree felony for causing injury to a child by neglect.
Investigators thought the couple avoided obtaining medical attention to avoid law police visits to their house. Despite phoning 911, Balbaneda elected to leave their home and meet emergency responders on the road.
The cause of Sipps’ injuries is still under investigation. Soward declined to provide any information, claiming only that they were unrelated to her school, which had started on Monday. The final autopsy report is awaiting.
Soward expressed amazement at the case’s peculiar nature.
“This is not something we typically run across or have, but in this business, it’s always that way,” Soward told me. “The next call’s going to be something strange or something you’ve never dealt with before, and this case here is a good example of that.”
Sipps would have turned thirteen later this month.
The sheriff’s office did not immediately reply to additional requests for updates.