Collin County mom gets 75 years in prison for 'sadistic torture' of another woman
Collin Co. mom tortures woman, sentenced to 75 years
Prosecutors said Alicia Calderon tricked a young woman into moving in with her to help clean the house, take care of the kids and care for an elderly woman. Two years later, the tortured victim weighed just 68 pounds and her body was covered in severe burns.
WYLIE, Texas - A Collin County woman will spend the next 75 years behind bars for the "sadistic torture" of another young woman who lived in her home.
27-year-old Simone Valdez-Junkin, who still has burn scars across her arms, testified against her abuser, 37-year-old Alicia Calderon.
"She was friends with Alicia before any of this happened," Farrah Junkin, Valdez-Junkin's mother.
In 2019, Valdez-Junkin thought she was moving in to Calderon's trailer in Wylie to clean and care for Calderon's children and a disabled elderly woman in exchange for free rent.
Alicia Calderon | Collin County DA
Valdez-Junkin's parents say communication drifted.
"I guess I just thought that she was just kind of living her life," her mother said.
For more than two years, however, Calderon controlled Valdez-Junkin with "unthinkable torture."
She severely burned Valdez-Junkin's arms, chest and back by pouring a pot of boiling water on her.
She deprived her of food, locked her in a dog crate and cut off her communication to the outside world.
"It’s heinous. You don’t think that this kind of stuff can happen," her mother said through tears.
On Feb. 1, 2022, Valdez-Junkin got ahold of a phone and sent her stepfather a message saying she was locked in a room and needed help.
It was the first time in two years Valdez-Junkin had spoken with her parents.
Her stepfather went to the trailer with deputies who had to remove stacked stones away from the door in order to free her.
She was down to 68 pounds, her head was shaved and she had second and third-degree burns.
"I initially did not recognize her," said Jarrod Cannon, Valdez-Junkin's stepfather. "All she wanted to do was just get away."
"It took me about a week and a half before I really could register that that was my daughter," said Valdez-Junkin's mother. "She was just skin. Literally skin hanging off of her bones."
She spent weeks in the hospital recovering from her injuries and needed multiple surgeries because of the burns.
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During the sentencing prosecutors revealed she stole nearly $80,000 from the disabled elderly woman in her care.
The money was going toward tattoos, tire rims and party rentals.
Prosecutors say her husband, Joseph Calderon, was involved.
Joseph Calderon
He's charged with elderly exploitation and abuse.
He's out on bond awaiting trial. FOX 4 tried to make contact with him at the trailer on Tuesday, but we were asked to leave.
"We have no comment. Go away. This is private property. Thank you," said a voice from inside.
"I mean they're just terrible people," said neighbor Saul Hernandez.
Hernandez says he saw Valdez-Junkin on occasion, but did not know the abuse she was suffering.
"Yeah, she would always be dirty. They wouldn’t shower her or nothing, like, she would always be dirty," he said.
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"I wasn't there for her and I hate that," said Valdez-Junkin's mother.
Valdez-Junkin's parents say they never suspected the torture.
Collin County jurors convicted Calderon of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury to a household member.
Now, as Calderon begins a 75-year sentence in prison, Valdez-Junkin's parents say their daughter is determined to make the most of her life.
"Simone is absolutely determined to overcome all of this," her mother said.
During the punishment phase of the trial, prosecutors also presented evidence that Calderon spent $78,000 of the elderly woman’s inheritance and had been cashing her Social Security checks for several years.
They said when deputies found the elderly woman in the home, she was in such a bad condition that they initially thought she was dead.