Texas couple charged with failing to seek medical care for injured 12-year-old who later died

JOURDANTON, Texas (AP) — A mother and stepfather have been arrested after the death of their 12-year-old daughter, who lay unconscious in their home for four days before medical treatment was sought as the pair tried to feed her smoothies, according to the county sheriff.

“They thought they could nurse her back to health,” said Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward.

Denise Balbaneda, 36, and Gerald Gonzales, 40, both of Christine, each face a felony charge of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission, Soward said during a news conference Wednesday.

Gonzales remains jailed while Balbaneda is free on bond, according to online jail records, which do not list attorneys who could speak on their behalf. A phone call Friday to a number listed for Balbaneda was answered by a recording saying the call could not be completed.

The Associated Press also left a telephone message with the sheriff’s office Friday morning.

Sipps received life-threatening injuries on Aug. 8, but the parents did not seek medical care until Monday, when Balbaneda called 911 and later met an ambulance that took the girl to a hospital in Jourdanton, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of San Antonio, where she died, Soward said.

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Soward said the couple were arrested Tuesday and have told investigators how the girl was injured. The sheriff declined to describe the girl’s injuries, citing an ongoing investigation and pending autopsy results.

“She was not talking, she basically could flutter her eyes and move her hands a little bit over a four-day period” until medical care was sought, Soward said.

“We do not think they wanted the attention this would draw to them if the little girl was injured, which is strangely ironic,” now that both face charges following the girl’s death, Soward said.