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Two Texas parents are facing charges in connection with their 12-year-old daughter’s death after allegedly attempting to treat her life-threatening injuries with smoothies and vitamins.
Denise Balbaneda, 36, and Gerald Gonzales, 40, were arrested Tuesday and charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission, which is a first-degree felony. Their bond was set at $200,000 each.
The child, identified as Miranda Sipps, a cheerleader at Jourdanton Junior High School, sustained life-threatening and severe injuries on Aug. 8 and was taken back home by her mother and stepfather, according to the New York Post. The parents then allegedly attempted to treat the girl’s injuries with smoothies and vitamins rather than immediately take her to a hospital.
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The Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that Balbaneda called 911 at 8 p.m. on Monday, four days after the girl was injured, to report that her daughter was experiencing respiratory issues.
“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 sheriff’s office said in the release. “It appears the mother finally called 9-1-1 when the girl went into respiratory distress.”
Dispatchers told Balbaneda to pull her vehicle over on the side of a highway as she was attempting to drive her daughter to the hospital herself so that EMS could meet her there and take the child to the hospital.
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The girl, who was alive but unconscious when EMS reached her, was then transported to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
The sheriff’s office continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the injuries that led to the child’s death.
