A nonverbal Texas teen with severe autism was found dead at home in an emaciated “mummified” state with bedsores that exposed “decaying limbs” — prompting cops to arrest her mom.
Suspect Crystal Canales, 41, called police in Balch Springs on Feb.14 and reported that her 19-year-old disabled daughter, Delilah Villegas, was unresponsive — but when officers arrived, they found the teen in such shocking condition that they were advised to not administer CPR.
Villegas’s body was disccovered curled up in a “fetal position” on her concrete bedroom floor and appeared to be “severely malnourished” and covered in open wounds, said Pedro Gonzalez, a spokesman for the local police department, at a weekend press conference.
The teen — who had been dead no more than a day — had large cuts and bedsores all over her body “exposing decaying limbs and even some of the bones” from her shoulder, arm and leg, Gonzalez said.
Villegas, who responders initially believed to be about 13 because of her emaciated state, looked like she was “mummified,” Gonzalez said.
“You sort of wonder what was going through her mind where she couldn’t communicate or even share some of her pain or suffering to others so she could get additional help,” he said of the tragic teen, according to People magazine.
Canales told police that she had been trying to treat her daughter’s sores with Neosporin.
An outline on the floor indicated that that the teen had been in the same position for a prolonged period of time.
Canales told police that her daughter had been breathing before first responders arrived and had eaten a handful of Goldfish crackers earlier in the day — but medical examiners estimate she had been dead six to 24 hours, as rigor mortis had set in.
Officials have not yet confirmed her exact manner of death.
Police launched an investigation and determined that “a reasonable person would have sought medical treatment” for Villegas, cops said in a press release.
Canales was arrested Friday and charged with one count of serious bodily injury to a disabled person, according to Fox 4.
The teen’s grandmother and great-uncle also live in the home, but it remains unclear if they will face any charges.
Family members told investigators that Villegas was prone to aggressive bouts of violence. On multiple occasions, “she became extremely violent, punching, hitting, kicking family members,” Gonzalez said, noting a past incident on a school bus.
Canales told police that her daughter’s fits of rage were why she did not seek medical care for her.
Character witnesses familiar with the family described Canales as a great mother who rarely left the house so that she could care for her daughter. Villegas’s teachers similarly only had good things to say about Canales, whom they described as an “involved” mother.
Police responded to the home for a wellness check in 2021 — although it’s unclear why — and said Villegas appeared healthy at the time.
