A mother from Texas was taken into custody after officials found her 19-year-old daughter, who was severely autistic, dead and "mummified" on the floor of her concrete bedroom.
The suspect, identified as 41-year-old Crystal Canales, is now facing one count of serious bodily injury to a disabled person, which is a second-degree felony. She was charged after Balch Spring Police Department officials discovered that her daughter was dead and emaciated at their home located on the outskirts of Dallas on Feb. 14, 2025.
A "Mummified" Teenage Girl
The body of the victim, identified as Delilah Villegas, was found curled up in a "near-fatal" position next to a single mattress and pallets of bedding. This weekend, Balch Springs spokesperson Pedro Gonzalez described the body as looking like it was mummified and was unrecognizable for a 19-year-old.
Detectives went to the home of the suspect and victim on Horseshoe Trail, Balch Springs, after they received a 911 call from Canales, who explained that her daughter was struggling to breathe and needed immediate medical assistance, according to the Independent.
However, they were too late, and as they entered the home, they smelled a pungent, decaying odor that led them straight to the autistic teenage girl's bedroom. They then discovered Villegas' body, "skin to bone," with large exposed wounds, bedsores, and decaying limbs. The bones on her shoulders, leg, and arm were seen protruding through the skin.
Initially, officials thought that the victim was only 13 years old due to how malnourished she was at the time of her discovery. Gonzalez said that it was immediately apparent that the young girl was dead for at least four hours because rigor mortis had already set in.
Unable To Communicate
Gonzalez noted that they wondered precisely what the 19-year-old went through and thought as she became unable to communicate or even tell other people about the pain and suffering that she was experiencing, the New York Post reported.
Canales told law enforcement officials that she had been trying to treat her autistic daughter's sores using Neosporin. Detectives also found an outline on the floor that indicated that the teenage girl had been stuck in the same position for an extended period.
Furthermore, the mother insisted that her daughter had been alive and breathing shortly before first responders arrived at their home. She also claimed that Villegas had eaten a handful of Goldfish crackers earlier that day, despite a medical review revealing she had been dead for several hours, as per People.
