Tempe police say family caged and abused teen to death
TEMPE, Ariz. (CNN, KYMA/KECY) - Police in Arizona say a teen girl with the mental capacity of a toddler was abused to death.
Authorities say the 13-year-old's grandmother and mother admitted to keeping her in a makeshift cage to control her.
Both adults could be facing charges soon.
All was quiet last Thursday at a Tempe townhome off the U.S 60 and Mill Avenue, but word started to spread that some horrible things may have happened here.
Ciara Lessard just got the news that her neighbor, 55-year-old Virginia Lujan, was arrested and charged with child abuse in connection with the death of her 13-year-old granddaughter who police say had bruises all over her body and had been living in a makeshift cage upstairs.
Sources say there were four other children in the home.
"The kids just seemed a little different...a little scared maybe. A lot of kids at that age are running loud like mine are, and these kids were a little standoffish...Something was going on. I guess I can see it now looking back," Lessard shared.
Lujan made an initial appearance in court Thursday afternoon.
Investigators say her daughter, 33-year-old Jami Hodges, may be charged with child abuse as well.
According to Tempe Police, they received a 911 call Tuesday night about the teen with special needs not breathing.
The child was rushed to a nearby hospital where she died Wednesday morning.
The grandmother reportedly told police that the child had fallen down the stairs a couple days earlier, but seemed to be fine.
Police later learned the teen, who had the mental capacity of a three-year-old, had been living in a makeshift cage that was full of filth and feces.
"The best way to describe it: It was a bunk bed, but the lower bed of that bunk was not there and the bunk bed around the bottom was surrounded by baby cages and makeshift bars for the bottom of that bunk bed," said Jessica Ells with the Tempe Police Department (TPD).
Police say its unclear how long the child lived in the cage, but it may have been months, even years.
"These are just heartbreaking situations that not only impact our officers, but impact the whole community. For us to see a child suffering like this just reiterates why we do this work and why it's so important that all of us, as a collective, do everything we can to keep most vulnerable in our community safe," said Chief Ken McCoy with TPD.
"I can't even imagine looking at my kids face when they come home, but I know one thing I'll hold them differently," Lessard expressed.
Police say the four other children in the home are now in custody of the state. They range in age from two- to 15-years-old.
Investigators say none of them had been attending school.
