Texas couple charged with failing to seek medical care for injured 12-year-old who later died

JOURDANTON, Texas — A mother and stepfather have been arrested following the death of their 12-year-old daughter. According to the county sheriff, the daughter was unconscious in their home for four days before seeking medical attention while the couple tried to feed her smoothies.

“They thought they could get her back on her feet,” said Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward.

Denise Balbaneda, 36, and Gerald Gonzales, 40, both of Christine, are each charged with injury to a child resulting in serious bodily injury through negligence, Soward said at a news conference Wednesday.

Gonzales remains jailed while Balbaneda is out on bail, according to online jail records, which do not list attorneys who could speak on their behalf. A call Friday to a number listed for Balbaneda was answered with a recording saying the call could not be completed.

The Associated Press also left a phone message with the sheriff’s office Friday morning.

Sipps suffered life-threatening injuries on Aug. 8, but her parents didn’t seek medical attention until Monday. Balbaneda called 911 and later met an ambulance that took the girl to a hospital in Jourdanton, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of San Antonio, where she died, Soward said.

Soward said the couple was arrested Tuesday and told investigators how the girl was injured. The sheriff declined to describe the girl’s injuries, citing an ongoing investigation and pending autopsy results.

“She didn’t speak, she could only blink her eyes and move her hands a little bit for four days” until medical attention was sought, Soward said.

“We don’t think they wanted to draw the attention that would come from the little girl getting hurt, which is strangely ironic,” now that both are facing charges in the girl’s death, Soward said.