A Texas mother has been arrested after police discovered the emaciated, decaying body of her 19-year-old daughter in their Balch Springs home on Valentine's Day.
Authorities say Crystal Canales, 38, called 911 claiming her daughter, Delilah Villegas, who had nonverbal autism, was having trouble breathing. When officers arrived, they were met with a "foul odor" coming from Villegas' bedroom, where they found her lifeless body curled in a near-fetal position, according to an affidavit obtained by KKTV.
"She looked like she was in a mummified state on the floor," Officer Pedro Gonzalez stated during a press conference Saturday.
Medical personnel determined Villegas had been dead for at least six hours and possibly up to 24. Officers described the young woman as "skin to bone" with exposed, decaying limbs, leading them to believe she had suffered from extreme neglect and malnutrition. Due to her condition, they initially mistook her for a much younger child.
Investigators say Villegas was nonverbal and had autism. The room where she was found had a deadbolt lock on the door, with only a mattress and piles of blankets inside.
Villegas' grandmother and great-uncle also lived in the home, but her grandmother told police she hadn't seen her in weeks, and the great-uncle reportedly hadn't seen her for a year. They currently face no charges.
Canales admitted she had not sought medical care for her daughter, claiming the teen became violent if she attempted to take her to a doctor. She is charged with injury to a disabled person by omission, a second-degree felony.
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