ATASCOSA COUNTY, Texas – A 12-year-old Atascosa County girl is dead and her mother and stepfather are facing charges for allegedly failing to seek medical assistance for her injuries.
Miranda Sipps was a student at Jourdanton ISD and would have turned 13 years old later this month.
Her mother, 36-year-old Denise Balbaneda, and stepfather, 40-year-old Gerald Gonzales, are charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission, according to the sheriff’s office.
Here’s what we know about the case so far.
Call to 911
Balbaneda called 9-1-1 from her home in Christine at 8:20 p.m. on Monday to report that her 12-year-old daughter was not breathing. Balbadenda put Sipps in her vehicle and started driving toward a hospital in Jourdanton, according to the sheriff’s office. Dispatchers advised Balbaneda to stop her vehicle and meet EMS at the intersection of Texas Highway 16 and FM 140.
Sheriff David Soward said the couple may not have wanted law enforcement at their house because it was “unkempt.”
EMS treated Miranda as she was transported to Methodist Hospital Atascosa where medical staff worked on Sipps for an hour, but “there was nothing they could really do,” Soward said.
Sipps was pronounced dead at 9:55 p.m.
Investigators questioned Balbaneda and learned that Miranda received serious, life-threatening injuries on the afternoon of Aug. 8, the sheriff’s office said.
Miranda’s injuries
Soward said the injuries were life-threatening and put her in a state of unconsciousness.
During a media briefing on Aug. 15, Soward said that Balbaneda explained how the injuries happened but he didn’t want to share those details until the sheriff’s office had confirmed her cause of death.
“We still have a little bit of doubt; we need to figure that out,” Soward said.
On Aug. 16, the sheriff’s office said an autopsy indicated that Sipps “experienced a trauma to her neck.” The agency is still awaiting the Medical Examiner’s final report.
“We have determined that upon being found by her mother, Sipps was still alive, although in dire need of immediate medical treatment,” the sheriff’s office stated in an Aug. 16 updated press release.
Regardless of how the injuries occurred, Soward said the parents “failed to act.”
“You still have a duty to provide medical care for a 12-year-old child,” he said.
Instead, the sheriff’s office said, “Sipps was kept on a homemade bedding area in an environment that was not kept to a reasonable standard of cleanliness.”
“Basically, they thought they could nurse her back to health and we do not think they wanted the attention that this would draw to them if the little girl was injured, which is strangely ironic,” Soward said.
The parents tried to give her smoothies, vitamins and supplements and may have gotten oxygen for her at one point, Soward said, but Miranda could only flutter her eyes and move her hands.
“Someone who is unconscious is not able to swallow,” Soward said. “She’d been in that situation, laying on the floor for four days.”
Balbaneda and Gonzales charged
Balbaneda and Gonzales were arrested Tuesday afternoon at their residence without incident. They were booked into the Atascosa County Jail on bonds of $200,000 each.
The charge of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission is a first-degree felony.
“The most basic responsibility of a parent is to protect their child from harm and render aid when a child faces an immediate and deadly health crisis. In this case, that did not happen.,” Soward said in an Aug. 16 statement.
Balbaneda posted bond and was released Thursday evening. Gonzales remains in jail.
Child Protective Services and the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office are running parallel investigations.
Records from ACSO
KSAT requested records from the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office, which showed three calls were made to the home before Monday.
- On March 28, deputies were called for a welfare check after a “female” was seen with scratches on her, records show. A deputy was sent to the home, and both a “male” and “female” stated it was “all verbal.”
- On Nov. 1, 2023, Jourdanton Elementary School called Child Protective Services to report marks on a child (not Miranda). CPS called authorities to report the information, records show. No further details on the case were revealed in the documents.
- On Oct. 29, 2023, a person called authorities and reported Gonzales was at the location and refused to leave. Authorities responded, and the parties were separated.
Soward said there were no other children in the home, but that Miranda had a sibling who is living with the child’s biological father.
On Aug. 16, Child Protective Services said there was not an open CPS case at the time of the incident.
Jourdanton ISD calls case ‘tragic loss’
On Wednesday, the school district made its first public comment about the incident, posting on Facebook that they are “currently dealing with the tragic loss of one of our Jr. High students.”
“Jourdanton ISD has a School Crisis Team made up of professionals trained to help with the needs of students, parents/caregivers, and school staff at difficult times such as this. The District is focused on providing resources for those in our community impacted by this loss. In our Junior High library, we made counselors available for anyone who may need or want help or assistance,” the post read.
The school district has not responded to requests for comment from KSAT.
This is still an ongoing investigation, and we will update this story as KSAT learns more about the case.