San Antonio mother arrested after 6-year-old weighing 31 pounds died of malnutrition
07/28/2022 11:40 am PDT
SAN ANTONIO (TCD) -- A 38-year-old mother of six children was arrested and charged after her 6-year-old daughter, who weighed only 31 pounds, died.
According to KSAT-TV, on Oct. 3, 2021, San Antonio police officers responded to a report of an unresponsive child. Authorities reportedly learned that Stephanie Jimenez’s 6-year-old daughter was pronounced dead. The girl was just eight days shy of her seventh birthday, KSAT reports.
Jimenez allegedly told police that her daughter Samantha fell and hit her head before she started to vomit. The affidavit obtained by KSAT alleges that Samantha "appeared small and thin for her age."
According to KSAT, the victim’s hair was covered with lice, and she had a buildup of dead skin due to lack of hygiene.
An autopsy report performed by the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Officer reportedly revealed that Samantha died of malnutrition and neglect. She was also allegedly dehydrated, suffering from a kidney infection, and was positive for COVID-19 at the time of her death.
The victim had reportedly not received any medical care for one to two years. Jimenez allegedly told authorities she "had no help" and that she "would lock herself in her bedroom and let her six children do whatever they wanted."
According to KENS-TV, Jimenez’s other children in the home were healthy.
On Tuesday, July 26, a San Antonio police report obtained by KSAT said an arrest warrant was issued for Jimenez. Jimenez was arrested and charged with injury to child — serious bodily injury by omission, records show. She was reportedly booked into Bexar County Jail on $200,000 bond.
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