Balch Springs mom arrested for ‘severely malnourished’ daughter’s death
Mom arrested for malnourished daughter's death
When a call for help finally came in, it was too late. Paramedics found 19-year-old Delilah Villegas dead. Police noticed an outline of her body on the concrete floor, indicating she had been in the same fetal position for a long period of time.
BALCH SPRINGS, Texas - The mother of a 19-year-old autistic girl from Balch Springs is in jail facing charges related to her death on Valentine’s Day.
Delilah Villegas found dead
Delilah Villegas (Family Photo)
What we know:
Balch Springs police said they got a 911 call on Feb. 14 from the mother of 19-year-old Delilah Villegas. Crystal Canales reported that her daughter was having trouble breathing.
But when the first responders got to the home on Horseshoe Trail, they found Delilah already dead. They estimated she had been dead for between six and 24 hours based on the condition of her body.
Police said the first responders also noticed a strong foul odor coming from Delilah’s bedroom and an outline of her body on the concrete floor, indicating she’d been in the same fetal position for a prolonged period of time.
They said she appeared severely malnourished and had multiple bruises and contusions on her body.
Crystal Canales arrested
What we know:
Family members told detectives Delilah had severe autism, was non-verbal, and wore a diaper. But they said she had no major health conditions.
Police said Canales insisted her daughter had been breathing before the first responders arrived and that she had eaten a handful of Goldfish crackers earlier in the day.
Detectives also questioned her about why Delilah appeared severely malnourished and had bedsores, multiple wounds, and exposed bones on her right thigh, shoulder, hip, buttocks, hand, and ankle.
Canales acknowledged the bed sores and claimed she was treating them with Neosporin.
She claimed she did not seek medical care for Delilah because she would often become violent.
Records indicated Delilah’s last hospital visit was in 2021, and there were no medical calls to her house after May 2021.
The detectives concluded that a reasonable person would have sought medical care for Delilah’s severe wounds.
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What they're saying:
People living along Horseshoe Drive tell FOX 4 they could never have imagined the horrors that police say were going on in the little blue house on their street.
"Yeah, it’s very sad, very sad to hear that," said neighbor Rochelle Stewart. "Because they seemed like decent people. They didn’t seem like they were doing anything wrong."
Anthony Johnson lives right next door. He says his brother went to high school with Villegas.
"I’m a new parent myself," he said. "I have a 1-year-old daughter. She doesn’t have any special needs, but there is nothing in the world I wouldn’t do for that little girl."
Neighbors are trying to come to terms with what went down right next door.
"I don’t know very much about them, but I just see them," said Stewart. "I didn’t even know they had a daughter."
What's next:
Canales, 41, was arrested on Friday for serious bodily injury to a disabled person under her care, which is a second-degree felony.
She was taken to the Balch Spring jail and will be transferred to the Dallas County jail.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine her daughter’s exact cause of death.
Balch Springs police are expected to hold a press conference on Saturday to release more details.
The Source: The information in this story comes from a news release from the Balch Springs Police Department.