Texas girl dies after parents allegedly tried to treat injuries with smoothies, vitamins, police say
Mug shots of Denise Balbaneda, age 36, and Gerald Gonzales, age 40. (Sheriff David Soward, Atascosa County, Texas, Facebook)
A 12-year-old Texas girl has died after her parents allegedly attempted to treat her life-threatening injuries with smoothies and vitamins, according to reports.
The child was identified as Miranda Sipps and she was a cheerleader at Jourdanton Junior High School.
Sipps was injured on August 8
Sipps was injured last Thursday, according to the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office.
The 12-year-old sustained life-threatening and severe injuries and was brought back home by her mother and stepfather where they allegedly attempted to treat her with smoothies and vitamins, according to the New York Post.
At one point, the parents also attempted to administer oxygen, the sheriff said.
Parents called police on August 12
Sipps’ mother, identified as 36-year-old Denise Balbaneda, called 911 and said her daughter was allegedly having respiratory issues.
Officers and emergency personnel met Balbaneda on the side of a highway after she was attempting to drive her daughter to the hospital herself.
The child was then transported to a nearby hospital where she later died.
Parents charged and jailed
Balbaneda and 40-year-old Gerald Gonzales were charged and arrested on Tuesday.
Both have been charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission, according to the sheriff’s office. They’re bond was set at $200,000 each.
How Sipps was injured yet to be revealed
The injuries that led to Sipps’ death are yet to be disclosed as the investigation is ongoing, according to investigators.