The parents of twin infants have been charged in connection to their deaths after an autopsy revealed they were beaten and starved.
Angelina Belinda Calderon and Fernando Vega, both 21 years old, were taken into custody on Friday for mistreatment that led to the tragic deaths of their twin daughters, who were only six weeks old.
Houston police were called to their at home 2107 Linden Creek Way around 11:15 a.m. on October 4 and found the babies unresponsive.
Vega claimed that after dropping Calderon off at her workplace, he returned home to discover that the infants were not breathing. However, following an autopsy, it was revealed that the twins had succumbed to various injuries inflicted by a blunt object, as per a report by KTRK.
‘The accusations are incredibly distressing. These infants, just six weeks old, displayed signs of blunt force trauma, severe malnourishment, and both old and new injuries,’ Assistant District Attorney Appelbaum disclosed to KPRC.
‘Quite alarming and as I say it kind of goes to the fact that these injuries and the fact that they were malnourished are things a reasonable caregiver should have been aware of and that’s why they are charged with that omission part.’
Vega told police the twins were ‘fussy’ throughout the night, and he put them in a bassinet.
Calderon did not wake the babies up in the morning because she was heading to work, according to court documents.
Police said the infants were found on the couch with discolored skin, multiple bruises and contusions, and one of the girls had fractures.
The babies were more prematurely, but had not received medical care since being released from the hospital, court documents said.
Dr. Jesus Rico, a pathologist at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science conducted the autopsy and found several injuries one of the infants including dehydration, contusions on various body parts and fractures indicating previous abuse.
Both twins were found to be malnourished, one showed evidence of acute brain bleeding, and the other suffered hemorrhaging of the brain and spinal cord, indicative of recent trauma, reported KPRC.
Calderon and Vega were charged with causing seriously bodily injury to a child and are both being held at the Harris County Jail on $750,000 bond.
Vega’s defense attorney Mario Madrid said, ‘He seemed to be in shock, the moment was big for him and with the court I found him to be very respectful. But at the same time, he seemed to be a little scared obviously with the charges he’s being faced with.’
The father has a court hearing scheduled for May 29 and the mother’s next court appearance is scheduled for Friday.
Calderon’s sister told the local news station, ‘she’s one of the best mothers that I know,’ and insisted sister was at work the day the children died.
The mother had an emotional outburst during an initial probable cause court hearing, reported KTRK.
‘You were the last one with my kids when they f*****g died. You’re making me look like I’m a bad person. I was at work when they f*****g died,’ Calderon said.
Calderon’s aunt, Sarah Calderon, told the local news stations both parents need to be held accountable for their actions.
‘I’m just really disappointed, it hurts – it really does break my heart. They need to both be held accountable,’ she said.
‘Because, OK, even if I don’t think she would physically harm them, like the babies weren’t even taken care of.’