A woman in Texas is in custody after her 19-year-old autistic daughter was found dead and “mummified” on the floor of her concrete bedroom, say officials.
Crystal Canales, 41, is facing one count of serious bodily injury to a disabled person – a second-degree felony – after officers from the Balch Springs Police Department found her child dead and emaciated at their home on the outskirts of Dallas on February 14.
Delilah Villegas’s body was curled up in a “near-fetal” position, next to a single mattress and pallets of bedding when authorities found her, Balch Springs officer Pedro Gonzalez said this weekend.
Speaking to the media, Gonzalez stammered while describing the body: “She looked like she was in a mummified, in a mummy state of…on the floor. She was just in a curled-up position on the floor and it was just unrecognizable for a 19-year-old to be in that position.”
Detectives had arrived at the home on Horseshoe Trail, Balch Springs, which was inhabited by Villegas's great uncle, grandmother, and mom, after receiving a 911 call from Canales who explained that her daughter was struggling to breathe and needed CPR.
However, when officials arrived they were stunned to discover it was too late.
As they entered, officers began to smell a pungent decaying odor which led them to the girls’ bedroom.
This is when they found Villegas’ body “skin to bone” with large exposed wounds, bedsores, and decaying limbs, with bones on her shoulder, leg, and arm also protruding through the skin.
Officers initially thought the girl was 13 years old, said Gonzales, because of how malnourished she was.
Gonzalez said it was clear the girl had been dead for at least four hours because the “rigor mortis had set in” but shared that the medical examiner's office estimated she could have been dead anywhere from between 6 to 24 hours.
Interviews with family members revealed that Villegas’ was autistic and nonverbal. She often broke out in random outbursts of violent anger by kicking, punching, and beating family members and was previously involved in an altercation on a school bus, Gonzales shared.
Family members would often be discouraged from interacting with the girl because of how violent she became, authorities said.
According to the affidavit, seen by Live5News, the grandmother claimed not to have seen the 19-year-old in weeks while the great-uncle claimed to have not seen her for a year.
The last time police went to the home was for a welfare check in 2021 where they reported that “everyone had been fine”. The victim also had an older sister, said police.
The grandmother and great-uncle are not currently facing charges.
The mom was reportedly praised as a loving and caring parent, and no behavior ever raised any suspicion of abuse in the home, said Gonzales.
He added that an earlier welfare check and closer monitoring could have prevented the tragedy from unfolding.
Canales was first taken into custody at the Balch Springs Jail and is currently awaiting transfer to the Dallas County Jail.
