New Mexico Mother Accused Of Starving Her Disabled 5YO Son To Death

[Sugar Cookie]

Marecella Vasquez Montelongo, 23, was arrested in late February months after her 5-year-old son, who had Cerebral Palsy and other disabilities, was found in July unconscious and not breathing at her Albuquerque home. The boy was pronounced dead and an autopsy later determined that he died of starvation and dehydration due to neglect, according to a criminal complaint.

In the years prior to the boy's death, state investigators with the Children, Youth, and Families Department had responded to at least four reports of neglect involving the child, according to the complaint.

At the time of his death, the boy appeared as "skin and bones," with his hip bones clearly defined and open ulcers on his tailbone, according to the complaint. When medical examiners conducted a preliminary autopsy, they discovered that the boy had dropped to a weight of about 13.6 pounds.

The final autopsy, which was completed in October, concluded that Montelongo's son had died from starvation and dehydration, and ruled that the manner of death was a homicide.

The boy was nonverbal, blind, used a wheelchair and required round-the-clock care, according to investigators. Montelongo was required to give her son medication three times a day through a gastrostomy tube, otherwise known as a G-tube.

However, Montelongo routinely missed her son's doctor's appointments, including five since December 2022. While she noticed her son was losing weight, she told investigators that she did not think it was a concern, the complaint states.

Since the boy's birth, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department received four reports of medical neglect, including one report that was substantiated, according to the complaint.

Though the child was enrolled at he New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, records provided to investigators showed that he only reported for on day of school in September 2022 and never showed up again.

"This defendant made efforts to hide the abuse and this child's demise from medical advisors and the school," Bernalillo County Judge David Murphy said at Montelongo's hearing, according to video aired by KOAT-TV.

Some advocates went so far as to question how Montelongo was able to retain custody of her son following the series of red flags.

"We had medical providers, educational providers, service providers and family members raising flags," Maralyn Beck, founder and executive director of the nonprofit New Mexico Child Network told KOAT-TV. "Yet here we are."

New Mexico mother accused of allowing her 5-year-old son to slowly starve to death

Marecella Vasquez Montelongo, 23, was arrested in February months after her son, who had Cerebral Palsy and other disabilities, died of starvation.

www.usatoday.com

How could this happen?

Mom charged for starving special needs son to death in Albuquerque

The 5-year-old only weighed 13 pounds.

www.koat.com

 

[thuumpr]

How the hell could this woman have the nerve to 'smile for the camera'?

 

[Crazy Cat Lady]

How the hell could this woman have the nerve to 'smile for the camera'?

Is that a smile or a grimace? Or maybe her RBF?