In Texas, a woman is being held after her autistic daughter, 19, was found dead and “mummified” on the floor of her concrete bedroom.
Balch Springs Police found Crystal Canales, 41, and her child dead and severely malnourished at their home on the outskirts of Dallas on February 14. She is now being charged with one count of major bodily injury to a disabled person, which is a second-degree felony.
Balch Springs officer Pedro Gonzalez said this weekend that when police found Delilah Villegas, her body was curled up in a “near-fetal” pose next to a single mattress and pallets of bedding.
Gonzalez stuttered as he talked about the body in front of the media: “She looked like she was mummified, in a mummy state of…on the floor.” She was lying on the floor curled up, and a 19-year-old couldn’t be there.
Detectives went to the house on Horseshoe Trail in Balch Springs that Villegas’s great uncle, grandmother, and mother lived in after Canales called 911 to say that her daughter was having trouble breathing and needed CPR.
But when the police got there, they were shocked to find that it was too late.
As the police walked in, they could smell a strong smell of rot, which led them to the girls’ bedroom.
At this point, they discovered Villegas’s body “skin to bone,” with deep cuts, sores, and parts that were breaking down. The bones in her shoulder, leg, and arm were also sticking out of the skin.
Gonzales said that at first, officers thought the girl was 13 years old because she was so skinny.
Gonzalez said it was clear the girl had been dead for at least four hours because “rigor mortis had set in.” However, he also said that the medical examiner’s office thought she could have been dead for anywhere from six to twenty-four hours.
Family members who were interviewed said that Villegas was retarded and could not talk. Gonzales said she had random eruptions of violent anger where she would kick, punch, and beat family members. She had also been in a fight on a school bus before.
People in the girl’s family were often told not to contact with her because she became violent, according to the authorities.
Live5News saw an affidavit that said the 19-year-old’s grandma said she hadn’t seen her in weeks and her great-uncle said he hadn’t seen her in a year.
In 2021, the last time the cops went to the house, it was to make sure everyone was okay while they were there. Police said the person who died also had an older sister.
The grandma and great-uncle are not being charged right now.
Gonzales said that the mom was praised as a loving and caring parent, and that the kids’ behavior never made them think that they were being abused at home.
He also said that the tragedy could have been avoided with earlier checks on safety and more close supervision.
Canales was arrested first at the Balch Springs Jail and is now ready to be moved to the Dallas County Jail.
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