The owners of a home in Texas, USA, were surprised to find a malnourished and emaciated eight-year-old boy in their kitchen. They told authorities the child opened the refrigerator and started eating. When approached, “she had food in her hands and said she was hungry.”
Cameron County Sheriff’s Office agents responded to the area after receiving a call of concern for the welfare of a child. According to the report, the family “took the child back to their home” and tried to contact the mother, but she was not home. Crystal Vieira would have arrived a little later with her boyfriend.
Crystal Vieira (Cameron County Sheriff’s Office)
In her first conversation with law enforcement agents, “the mother admitted to leaving the child alone at home unsupervised.” This led to a report to Child Protective Services, which removed the boy from the home.
The investigation determined that the child was “malnourished” and “physically neglected.” The evidence gathered was sufficient to charge Crystal Vieira with detention, abandonment, and endangering the physical integrity of the boy.
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