John Jefferson
Inset: Crystal Canales (Balch Springs Police Department). Background: The woman’s residence in Balch Springs, Tex. (Google Maps).
A Texas mother is behind bars after her daughter with autism was found dead in the family’s home last week, police in the Lone Star state say.
Crystal Canales, 41, stands accused of one count of serious bodily injury to a disabled person under her care, according to the Balch Springs Police Department.
On Valentine’s Day afternoon, the defendant called 911 to report that her daughter, Delilah Villegas, 19, was having trouble breathing.
The truth was allegedly much more grim.
Officers arrived at the house on Horseshoe Trail just before 2:30 p.m. that day, police said in a press release provided to Law&Crime. Balch Springs is a small city and inner-ring suburb of Dallas.
First responders went to the girl’s bedroom where a strong, foul odor was present, police said. Inside, they allegedly found a single mattress on the floor along with pallets of comforters, sheets, and pillows.
Also on the floor was the girl, police allege. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Delilah was lying on her right side in a “near-fetal” position on the concrete and there was a ring or outline around her body — suggesting prolonged time on the ground, according to police.
“Crystal insisted that Delilah had been breathing before first responders arrived and claimed she had eaten a handful of Goldfish crackers earlier that day,” the press release reads. “Family members stated Delilah had severe autism, was non-verbal, and wore a diaper but had no major health conditions.”
Medical personnel would go on to estimate that Delilah had been lying on the ground for at least six hours — and as many as 24 hours — by the time help arrived. Police said the girl appeared to be malnourished, was covered in bruises and “bed sores,” and had exposed bones on her right-side thigh, shoulder, hip, buttocks, hand, and ankle.
“Initially when officers arrived they thought she was probably 13,” Public Information Officer Pedro Gonzalez said at a Saturday press conference. “They didn’t realize she was 19 years old. It was, as described, skin-to-bone.”
Delilah appeared to look like a “mummy” or be “mummified” and was “unrecognizable as a 19-year-old,” the officer said.
Tests are ongoing to determine precisely how long the teenager had been on the ground to attain such a state, Gonzalez said.
The defendant said she was treating her daughter’s bed sores with Neosporin but did not seek medical care from professionals because Delilah would frequently become violent, police allege.
Two other adults were in the home at the time, Gonzalez said, and they confirmed that Deliliah was sometimes aggressive with family.
Police said a review of medical records showed that the last known hospital visit for Delilah was in 2021 and that the last call for service at the family’s address was in May of that year.
“Detectives concluded that a reasonable person would have sought medical treatment for Delilah’s severe wounds,” the press release reads.
During the press conference, the public information officer declined to say whether any other charges are forthcoming.
The investigation is said to be ongoing.
The defendant was taken into custody at the Balch Springs Jail. She is currently awaiting transfer to the Dallas County Jail.
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