A Texas mother allegedly faked her daughter’s cancer diagnosis and got her addicted to ketamine in a sickening, years-long campaign of abuse.
Denise Zamora was taken into custody this week, accused of abusing her 15-year-old daughter, whose name is not known, for more than six years.
Researchers told NBC5 that Zamora also falsified her own cancer diagnosis and said they are investigating claims that she committed more than $1 million in Medicaid fraud.
Officials are urging anyone who donated to the mother’s online appeals to come forward for information, claiming Zamora perpetuated the alleged scam for years.
They said Zamora’s daughter was deaf and nonverbal, and that her mother would answer her during medical visits.
Tarrant County investigators alleged that Zamora had her daughter undergo pain treatments with ketamine and other medications.
It is claimed that these ‘treatments’ led to her daughter becoming addicted to ketamine, as experts described the episode as appearing to be a tragic case of an actual disorder previously called Munchausen syndrome.
Zamora now faces a slew of crimes, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, serious bodily injury to a child and child endangerment.
Denise Zamora, pictured, is accused of faking her disabled daughter’s cancer diagnosis for money and attention
After Zamora’s first court appearance this week, police sources claimed that Zamora told friends and neighbors that she was also suffering from cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, NBC5 reports.
She reportedly even went so far as to shave her own head to convince others of her condition, and built a swanky new home in Texas in 2020 for $300,000.
Zamora’s arrest warrant details 20 pages of allegedly false claims she made to health experts, including faking headaches, nausea, stomach pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, seizures and spinal problems starting in 2018, reports Fox4.
The supposedly unnecessary treatments led to Zamora’s daughter eventually using a wheelchair and having a feeding tube, despite being able to walk and eat normally.
Her daughter went for at least seven emergency visits and 12 hospitalizations, and was prescribed 19 different medications for 44 diagnoses, investigators said.
Medical professionals reportedly became suspicious of Zamora for allegedly speaking on her daughter’s behalf, and she was placed under video surveillance while they were in a hospital room together.
According to her affidavit, Zamora “was caught on covert video surveillance taking a syringe from the vanity and using the syringe to place what appeared to be a clear, unknown liquid into the victim’s feeding bag.”
Then she took the feeding bag down and poured some of the contents into a cup…. then presented to the nurse that the victim had vomited,” the filing said.
Zamora built this chic home for herself in 2020, estimated to be worth $300,000
Another allegation claims that Zamora told doctors her daughter could only eat through a feeding tube, but when they were separated, her daughter immediately began eating by mouth.
While investigators are urging the public to come forward if they believe they sent money to Zamora on fraudulent grounds, GoFundMe reportedly said they have no active fundraisers for the mother.
Medical experts have said they believe the child is a victim of Munchausen syndrome-by-proxy, a condition in which a caregiver, often a parent or guardian, pretends that someone else has health problems.
The disorder has several motivations, often cited as wanting to appear a caring person or asking for money from well-wishers.
Detectives said Zamora refused to answer questions about her intentions when confronted with the allegations, and “denied harming the victim and continually blamed the doctors.”
The charges Zamora now faces include aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, related to a scalpel she allegedly used to insert a feeding tube into her daughter.