NM - Mother starves 5-year old blind son to death - May 1, 2024

[Clearsky]

Mom charged for starving special needs son to death in Albuquerque

The 5-year-old only weighed 13 pounds.

www.koat.com

Marcella Vasquez Montelongo, 23, appeared before a judge Wednesday afternoon for a detention hearing. With braids in her hair, her head hung down as prosecutors revealed gruesome details about her son's death.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

the details at the link are just too much. This kid had the odds stacked against him and it is heartbreaking.

Here is just a little bit:

According to Montelongo, her son had Cerebral Palsy, vision issues, he's non-verbal and required constant care. She was also supposed to give him medication through a G-tube three times a day.

Officials said the boy had muscular dystrophy. His appearance was skin and bones, his hip bone was clearly defined as if his skin was adhered directly to the bone's surface and he had open ulcers on his tailbone.

An autopsy showed the boy had 0% body fat and he only weighed 13.6 pounds.
. . . .
According to investigators, Montelongo missed five of her son's doctor's appointments since December 2022 and she noticed her son's weight loss but did not think it was a concern.

Officers also said there were reported concerns of medical neglect on at least four separate occasions with the Children, Youth and Families Department.

 

[borndem]

Did the Children, Youth and Families Department have the authority to remove the child from the home? If so, why didn't they? If not, could they have referred the situation with the child to a state or county to do so? Or am I missing something?Just dammit.
He just didn't have a chance, did he? Bless his heart.
So glad he is not suffering now.
Fly high, Little One -- you are free.

 

[LadyL]

shouldn't doctor's be reporting several missed appointments to CAS?

 

[Megsc]

shouldn't doctor's be reporting several missed appointments to CAS?

Exactly what I was wondering too especially since he had special needs.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[GuyfromCanada]

Marcella was found dead at the Metropolitan Detention Center back in May 2024.

Woman accused of starving special needs child found dead at MDC

Marcella Montelongo died while in custody on Thursday

www.koat.com

 

[Kittypoo]

Marcella was found dead at the Metropolitan Detention Center back in May 2024.

Woman accused of starving special needs child found dead at MDC

Marcella Montelongo died while in custody on Thursday

www.koat.com

Unable to access in Uk
Can someone copy the main points of the report please

 

[Kittypoo]

Did the Children, Youth and Families Department have the authority to remove the child from the home? If so, why didn't they? If not, could they have referred the situation with the child to a state or county to do so? Or am I missing something?Just dammit.
He just didn't have a chance, did he? Bless his heart.
So glad he is not suffering now.
Fly high, Little One -- you are free.

I am not defending the mother’s actions however she would have been 17 or 18 when pregnant.
It would appear that a child with such great special needs and illnesses could be too much for even an experienced parent/carer.
Maybe she was too young or pig headed to ask for support
IMO

 

[mickey2942]

I am not defending the mother’s actions however she would have been 17 or 18 when pregnant.
It would appear that a child with such great special needs and illnesses could be too much for even an experienced parent/carer.
Maybe she was too young or pig headed to ask for support
IMO

The problem is that cash, housing is tied to a dependent, and in this case, presumptive eligibility for SSI due to disability. Probably the parent only source of income. Give up the kid, there goes the cash and housing benefits.

 

[nao]

Moo..I would find it very depressing to care for a my child if there was no hope of improvement...moo

 

[seasideForest]

The problem is that cash, housing is tied to a dependent, and in this case, presumptive eligibility for SSI due to disability. Probably the parent only source of income. Give up the kid, there goes the cash and housing benefits.

We don't know whether that's the case here tho do we? Even if it often happens.

I would be overwhelmed looking after any child quite frankly, but certainly one with this amount of special care necessary. On other threads some posters mention that it's not actually that easy to simply give up a child you can't care for, once the child is past the newborn stage that can be left at a firehall anonymously.

Not that I condone the mother's actions at all but there might have been more behind this.
MOO

 

[MarziPanda]

We don't know whether that's the case here tho do we? Even if it often happens.

I would be overwhelmed looking after any child quite frankly, but certainly one with this amount of special care necessary. On other threads some posters mention that it's not actually that easy to simply give up a child you can't care for, once the child is past the newborn stage that can be left at a firehall anonymously.

Not that I condone the mother's actions at all but there might have been more behind this.
MOO

I agree. I think it's also worth thinking about the stigma that comes with giving a child up. Friends and family can be very judgemental. Even strangers. 'You're just giving up?' 'Don't you love him?' 'I could never give up my child' 'You're a terrible mother' 'You can't give him up just because he's disabled, a child is for life no matter what'. Those are the kinds of comments that you see on social media when there are families who have put a disabled child into foster care/up for adoption. People often don't think about how sometimes the alternative to giving the child up is that the child doesn't get the care they need.

I absolutely don't condone what she did, and we don't know if she was overwhelmed or just didn't care, but I think there are a lot of lessons to be learned by society and by social services in this case.

 

[borndem]

I agree. I think it's also worth thinking about the stigma that comes with giving a child up. Friends and family can be very judgemental. Even strangers. 'You're just giving up?' 'Don't you love him?' 'I could never give up my child' 'You're a terrible mother' 'You can't give him up just because he's disabled, a child is for life no matter what'. Those are the kinds of comments that you see on social media when there are families who have put a disabled child into foster care/up for adoption. People often don't think about how sometimes the alternative to giving the child up is that the child doesn't get the care they need.

I absolutely don't condone what she did, and we don't know if she was overwhelmed or just didn't care, but I think there are a lot of lessons to be learned by society and by social services in this case.

bbm
Yes, indeed.
I've seen so many of these parents who either don't know there is help or cannot get to a "Safe Place". Many hospitals and fire departments, etc., have the "Safe Place" alternative, and certainly no names are asked if a Safe Place is found. No cost, probably no questions.
Just a thought...

 

[MarziPanda]

bbm
Yes, indeed.
I've seen so many of these parents who either don't know there is help or cannot get to a "Safe Place". Many hospitals and fire departments, etc., have the "Safe Place" alternative, and certainly no names are asked if a Safe Place is found. No cost, probably no questions.
Just a thought...

As far as I know, safe havens are only for newborns or babies up to a certain age - from what I can find, there was only one state that initially allowed for the child to be any age. But then they had a lot of teenagers being abandoned in hospitals so it was changed to newborns only. So if any older children are abandoned at a hospital or fire station, the parent will be prosecuted for abandonment. And they must be surrendered unharmed. In a case where a mother is struggling to provide adequate care for a severely disabled child, law enforcement might decide that harm has been done, in which case anonymity is out of the window and they will try to locate parents to prosecute. And either way - the parent's family are going to ask questions about where that child went.