13-year-old kept in ‘makeshift cage which was full of feces’ died ‘covered in bruises’ as grandma and mom arrested

Virginia Lujan (Maricopa County Sheriff

Virginia Lujan (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office).

A grandmother and mother in Arizona are accused of abusing a special-needs 13-year-old girl to death, beating the child, who had the mental capacity of a 3-year-old, and disciplining her by forcing her to spend time in a makeshift feces-covered cage.

Virginia Lujan, 55, and Jami Hodges, 33, were taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with one count each of child abuse in connection with the death of the victim, who was their granddaughter and daughter.

According to a news release from the Tempe Police Department, officers with the Tempe Police Department at about 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21, responded to a 911 call at Lujan’s home after the grandmother told the emergency dispatcher that her 13-year-old granddaughter was not breathing.

Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located the victim and attempted life-saving measures before rushing her to a local hospital for treatment. Police inside the home noted that the victim was “covered in bruises and sores,” all of which were “in various stages of healing,” which is a telltale indicator of ongoing physical abuse.

Due to “initial observations” and the severity of the child’s condition, police notified members of the Criminal Investigation Bureau about the case.

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