A 16-YEAR-OLD boy weighed just 26 pounds and was ‘ravenously hungry’ because his mother starved him and did not care for him, police said.
The boy was exceptionally thin and police said he “laid in bed in the fetal position in a way that appeared as though he didn’t have the ability to stretch out in his bed,” the Chambersburg Public Opinion reported.
Three other children in the home were found to be “in good general health,” but the boy was “very frail, gaunt ribs extremely evident and ravenously hungry,” court documents said, as reported by the Chambersburg Public Opinion.
The mother, Elisabet Estrada, 41, was arrested and charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of children and one count of aggravated assault, in relation to child neglect late last week, according to the Chambersburg Police Department.
Police found the child on Oct. 24 last year when they went with Children and Youth Service in Pennsylvania to investigate reports of an “extremely malnourished” child, leading to the mother's recent arrest.
A medical expert told police the mother “failed to seek appropriate medical care from an early age until he was 16 years of age and failed to appropriately feed him," as stated in documents, the Chambersburg Public Opinion reported.
This malnutrition and neglect likely caused the boy’s frail condition, the expert said.
The boy — who had developmental delays and was nonverbal, according to police — would regurgitate and eat his food again.
The teen was admitted to Hershey Medical Center, where he gained 2.2 pounds in two days, court documents said. By the time he was discharged, he gained a total of 19 pounds and had grown in height.
After the boy was initially hospitalized, Estrada reportedly insisted her child “has no medical issues that require hospitalization,” and did not understand why she could not “treat him at home,” documents said.
The mother home schooled her children, and did not have a primary care provider for her malnourished son.
Child services said the mom had not used any therapy or services for her child for more nearly 15 years, the Chambersburg Opinion reported.
Estrada is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Franklin County Court on Jan. 28, according to court documents accessed by The Sun.
She is held on bail of $25,000 in the Franklin County Prison.
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