Virginia Gonzales (City of Austin/Austin Police Department).
A mother in Texas is facing felony charges for keeping her 7-year-old daughter locked away in a dark closet — with no access to food or a bathroom — because she had bladder issues and was “always getting into stuff,” according to the child’s siblings and police.
Virginia Gonzales, 33, is charged with causing serious bodily injury to a child after her daughter was found soiled and severely malnourished and weighing 29 pounds after spending several weeks inside of the closet, according to court documents obtained by local ABC affiliate KVUE.
The girl was reportedly found by her grandmother at the mother’s residence in Austin.
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Gonzales allegedly ordered the girl’s six siblings to keep her locked inside of the small space, which is approximately 3 feet by 1 foot, 10 inches, KVUE reports.
The children, which range in age from 2 to 14, told their grandmother that the girl was being punished by Gonzales for “getting into stuff” and eating things she was “not supposed to,” according to police.
The victim’s brother, who is 10, said the girl was allegedly only allowed to eat one corn dog a day and given a half-cup of water to drink. She defecated and urinated inside of the closet, according to her siblings.
Austin cops have placed the children in protective custody and are now looking for another girl, Ava, from the Gonzales family who’s been missing since 2017. She was 9 years old when she disappeared, according to a press release.
Cops say the closet victim suffered permanent brain damage and prolonged starvation as a result of the imprisonment, which was discovered on April 3. The closet where the girl was allegedly being held was barricaded.
Authorities have asked anyone with information related to the missing sibling, Ava, to contact the Austin Police Department.
