Inset left: Adariance Rahman (Coryell County Jail). Inset right: Jenny Sanchez (Bell County Jail). Background: A residential street in Gatesville, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas couple was recently arrested after their 9-month-old was "severely malnourished," Lone Star State law enforcement says.
Jenny Sanchez, 23, and Adariance Rahman, 22, stand accused of one count each of injury to a child with serious bodily injury and endangering a child, according to the Gatesville Police Department.
The investigation began on July 20 at a residence on North 27th Street in Gatesville – a small town some 40 miles west of Waco.
Someone called police over concerns the infant was not being cared for, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Waco-based CBS affiliate KWTX and Temple-based NBC affiliate KCEN.
Officers arrived at the residence around 9 p.m. and observed signs of "extreme malnourishment," police said. Paramedics subsequently transported the child to Baylor Children's Medical Center in Temple.
Police also described the little girl as "severely underweight" for her age and said her ribs, collarbones, shoulder blades and spine were "prominently visible" through her skin, according to the complaint.
The child's eyes were sunken and her skin appeared pale and loose, police added.
Sanchez, for her part, allegedly said the little girl had been sick with the flu – but had never been to a doctor or had a checkup since she was born, according to the charging document.
The mother added that she stopped breastfeeding when the baby was 4 months old, police said. Sanchez allegedly went on to say the child does not drink formula either – instead she drinks water and eats squeezable baby food, according to the complaint.
Medical staff at the hospital described the child as "severely malnourished," with abnormalities in her bones, and suffering from a rare condition known as refeeding syndrome – a condition where food is reintroduced to a person previously deprived of nutrients.
One staff member said the situation was "one of the worst cases of malnourishment in an infant she has seen still living," and described her condition as life-threatening, according to the complaint.
Authorities also detailed the child's growth over time.
The child weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces at birth, according to the complaint. At the time she was taken to the hospital, she weighed 7 pounds, 16.3 ounces.
Staff said the child may suffer from growth issues, as well as cognitive and motor developmental delays due to the malnourishment.
The mother and father were subsequently arrested – the mother at the hospital; the father at the family's residence.
Child Protective Services placed the infant into protective custody, along with two other children in the home, police said.
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