4 arrested including mother and brother as 3-year-old Massachusetts girl who was tied down to bed dies
NEW MEXICO: Authorities said that a 3-year-old girl passed away at a hospital in New Mexico from wounds that were in various stages of healing, including pressure marks that appeared to indicate she had been strapped to a bed.
According to court documents, Kerri Anne Santos, 31, Austin Bing, 28, Christina Pena-Cantor, 46, and James Welch, 48, are all accused of abusing children.
3-year-old girl's mother accused of falsifying evidence
Santos, the girl's mother, is also accused of falsifying the evidence. All of them are being detained without bond at the Bernalillo County Jail.
According to KOAT, Santos took the girl to a hospital on Saturday when she wasn't feeling well, citing an affidavit. The girl was pronounced dead by doctors.
She informed the detectives of the Albuquerque Police Department that she had driven from Massachusetts across the nation to get away from an abusive relationship.
According to Santos, Welch's studio apartment on the 3000 block of Gold Avenue SE was where she and her three kids were staying. According to the affidavit, she stated that the girl had fallen off a toilet and onto the bathroom floor.
Pressure marks and bruises found on victim's ankle
However, when they discovered pressure marks and bruises on the girl's ankles that were in varying states of healing, the authorities became suspicious.
According to Santos, Pena-Cantor gave her son Bing the order to restrain the girl on the bed on Friday. According to the affidavit, Santos took the girl to the hospital after arguing with Pena-Cantor and Bing.
Though Santos later allegedly acknowledged the injuries occurred at Welch's house, he was going to lie about what had happened. The Department of Children, Youth, and Families is in charge of the two other kids.
According to KRQE, Massachusetts police suspected Santos of drug use around her kids. In an interview, state senator Crystal Brantley of New Mexico described the news as horrific.
