A 22-year-old woman is behind bars after San Antonio police said she injured her 5-year-old daughter, leading to her death.
According to SAPD Officer Ricardo Guzman, Katrina Rose Mendoza is charged with one count of injury to a child.
The charge stems from an incident on Feb. 7, when Mendoza took her child to an area hospital, unresponsive with “visible injuries,” police said. It’s unclear what those injuries were, but the child later died at the hospital after medical staff attempted to revive her.
Homicide detectives were notified of the child’s death, and they launched an investigation. SAPD said detectives found evidence that linked Mendoza to the child’s injuries.
On Thursday, Mendoza was taken from Public Safety Headquarters to the Bexar County Jail.
Jose Angel Ruiz, 25, is also charged in connection with the child’s death, according to police. Ruiz is also charged with one count of injury to a child, which is in addition to other charges he’s currently facing from separate incidents.
According to an arrest affidavit, the 5-year-old child had “visible bruises, scratches, cuts, and swelling on almost every visible part of her body.” Authorities said her injuries appeared to be at different stages of healing, indicating “continuous physical abuse over a period of time.” However, medical personnel did not confirm this.
In an interview, Mendoza told police the alleged abuse started three weeks before the child’s death when she called Ruiz and asked for help with disciplining her child.
Ruiz arrived at Mendoza’s home, and she placed the five-year-old in the back of his vehicle, according to an affidavit. Ruiz drove away with the child and later video called Mendoza.
The child was seen crying while holding up a heavy object, police said. Mendoza told the child she had to keep holding the heavy object as part of her punishment, the affidavit states. It’s unknown how long the child held the object.
Authorities said a few days passed before Mendoza saw the child and Ruiz again. When Mendoza saw the child, she had bruising on her face and had bruises and cuts on her inner thighs, according to an affidavit.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Mendoza and her two children moved into Ruiz’s apartment. She told police she witnessed several other instances of alleged abuse to her child from Ruiz.
Mendoza’s other child, a six-year-old girl, was removed from her family’s custody and is currently in the custody of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, an affidavit states.
Ruiz spoke to detectives and admitted to punishing the 5-year-old child, but he claimed Mendoza was the one who allegedly beat the child. Police said Ruiz “appeared to be deflecting responsibility for his actions onto Mendoza and the victim’s sister.” Ruiz was later booked on the injury to a child charge.
The cause of the child’s death is still undetermined and pending results from the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to police.
Further details are limited at this time. We’ll bring more updates as they become available.
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