In Texas, a mother is facing serious felony charges for allegedly confining her 7-year-old daughter in a dark closet without access to food or a bathroom.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alert hourly update, breaking crime news Now. I'm Nicole Parton.
In Texas, a mother is facing serious felony charges for
allegedly confining her seven year old daughter in a closet
without access to food or a bathroom. Virginia Gonzales, thirty three,
claimed during a court hearing this week that she had
sufficient food for her family and insisted she was never abusive. Quote.
(00:24):
I acknowledge that I was in the wrong, Gonzales stated
in the three hundred and thirty first Criminal District Court.
As the Travis County District Attorney's office sought to increase
her bond from seventy five thousand to two hundred and
fifty thousand based on a prior request made in June.
Gonzalez expressed remorse, but seemed to shift some blame onto
(00:45):
her other children regarding the alleged neglect. Quote. I told
them not to let her out of the bedroom, not
the closet, she explained, claiming it was easier for her
sons to monitor the girl that way, as they had
caught her missp behaving in the restroom. Authorities report that
Gonzales has another child who has been missing since twenty seventeen.
(01:08):
She faces charges of causing serious bodily injury to her daughter,
who was discovered in a severely malnourished state after weeks
in the closet, weighing just twenty nine pounds. The girl
was found by her grandmother at gonzales home in Austin.
Police alleged that Gonzales instructed her six other children to
(01:28):
keep their sister confined in a space measuring three feet
by ten inches. The siblings, between the ages of two
and fourteen, reportedly told their grandmother that the girl was
being punished for quote getting into stuff and eating things
that she shouldn't eat. A ten year old brother mentioned
that the girl was only given one corn dog per
(01:49):
day and a half a cup of water, while her
siblings stated she was forced to relieve herself in the closet.
Detective Ryan Constable from the APD Child Abuse Unit described
the girl's condition in court, saying, quote the fat in
her cheeks was nonexistent, her body had used those stores
to sustain itself. During the hearing, Gonzales expressed her desire
(02:13):
to quote fight for her children, claiming she had never
spanked them or inflicted harm. I'm willing to do whatever
it takes to keep my children, she said. The other
children have since been placed in protective custody as law
enforcement continues to search for gonzales missing daughter, Ava Marie Gonzalez,
who vanished in twenty nineteen at the age of just nine.
(02:35):
According to reports, the girl confined in the closet suffered
permanent brain damage and severe malnutrition due to her prolonged confinement,
which was discovered in late April. The closet was reportedly
barricaded shut. This is absolutely horrifying, remarked Judge Chantel Eldridge.
Gonzales faces three counts of injury to a child in
(02:56):
one count of unlawful restraint. Prosecutors areguan for the bond increase,
labeling her a flight risk, and called witnesses, including Gonzales's
own mother, who claimed her daughter would likely run away.
Valerie Gonzalez, who raised Virginia since she was thirteen, express
concerns about her daughter's history of missing court appearances. She
didn't show up for a minor charge. Do you think
(03:18):
she will show up for this, Valerie stated, I know
my daughter. She'll make a run for it. Ultimately, Judge
Eldred sided with the prosecution and raised Gonzales bond to
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. She was promptly arraigned,
pleaded not guilty, and her trial is set for January
twenty twenty six. Authorities are urging anyone with information about
(03:39):
the missing ava to please reach out to Austin Police.
More crime and justice news after this while evating law enforcement.
After the suspected murder of his wife, a man from
New York fatally attacked his ex wife. Timothy Taylor has
(04:01):
admitted guilt in the slaying of Tooshaan Taylor, his former
spouse and the mother of his two children, according to
a statement from the County District Attorney's office. Prosecutors revealed
that Folks Taylor was stabbed in her residence on May
twenty eight, after Taylor traveled from North Carolina to upstate
New York. At the time, Taylor was already a suspect
(04:23):
in the murder of his current wife in Brooklyn, where
she had been residing. He is still facing an impending
indictment related to that separate murder case. As noted by
the District Attorney's office on June two, twenty twenty three,
Taylor was apprehended in Philadelphia and subsequently extradided back to
New York to face murder charges. According to a press
(04:45):
release from the County District Attorney's office, Taylor confessed to
detectives that after killing his then current wife, he felt
guilty and believed he needed to go kill his former
wife due to his deep seated resis zent he held
toward her. In his own words, she unlike his first
victim quote, deserved it with his guilty plea. Regarding Folks
(05:07):
Taylor's murder, Taylor is set to receive a sentence of
twenty two years to life in prison. Prior to her death,
Folks Taylor had been married to Taylor for over a decade.
District Attorney Robert Carney remarked in a statement, it is
important to recognize that to Sean Taylor, even while confronting
her attacker and aware of his intention, prioritize the safety
(05:31):
of her children. After inflicting more than twenty two stab wounds,
mister Taylor fled into the night without harming the children.
He added that these children, particularly the oldest to high
school student at the time, along with their extended family,
played a vital role in assisting the office in building
a case against mister Taylor. For the latest crime and
(05:54):
justice news, follow Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite
podcasting app with this Crime Alert timonical party
Crime Alert hourly update, breaking crime news Now. I'm Nicole Parton.
In Texas, a mother is facing serious felony charges for
allegedly confining her seven year old daughter in a closet
without access to food or a bathroom. Virginia Gonzales, thirty three,
claimed during a court hearing this week that she had
sufficient food for her family and insisted she was never abusive. Quote.
(00:24):
I acknowledge that I was in the wrong, Gonzales stated
in the three hundred and thirty first Criminal District Court.
As the Travis County District Attorney's office sought to increase
her bond from seventy five thousand to two hundred and
fifty thousand based on a prior request made in June.
Gonzalez expressed remorse, but seemed to shift some blame onto
(00:45):
her other children regarding the alleged neglect. Quote. I told
them not to let her out of the bedroom, not
the closet, she explained, claiming it was easier for her
sons to monitor the girl that way, as they had
caught her missp behaving in the restroom. Authorities report that
Gonzales has another child who has been missing since twenty seventeen.
(01:08):
She faces charges of causing serious bodily injury to her daughter,
who was discovered in a severely malnourished state after weeks
in the closet, weighing just twenty nine pounds. The girl
was found by her grandmother at gonzales home in Austin.
Police alleged that Gonzales instructed her six other children to
(01:28):
keep their sister confined in a space measuring three feet
by ten inches. The siblings, between the ages of two
and fourteen, reportedly told their grandmother that the girl was
being punished for quote getting into stuff and eating things
that she shouldn't eat. A ten year old brother mentioned
that the girl was only given one corn dog per
(01:49):
day and a half a cup of water, while her
siblings stated she was forced to relieve herself in the closet.
Detective Ryan Constable from the APD Child Abuse Unit described
the girl's condition in court, saying, quote the fat in
her cheeks was nonexistent, her body had used those stores
to sustain itself. During the hearing, Gonzales expressed her desire
(02:13):
to quote fight for her children, claiming she had never
spanked them or inflicted harm. I'm willing to do whatever
it takes to keep my children, she said. The other
children have since been placed in protective custody as law
enforcement continues to search for gonzales missing daughter, Ava Marie Gonzalez,
who vanished in twenty nineteen at the age of just nine.
(02:35):
According to reports, the girl confined in the closet suffered
permanent brain damage and severe malnutrition due to her prolonged confinement,
which was discovered in late April. The closet was reportedly
barricaded shut. This is absolutely horrifying, remarked Judge Chantel Eldridge.
Gonzales faces three counts of injury to a child in
(02:56):
one count of unlawful restraint. Prosecutors areguan for the bond increase,
labeling her a flight risk, and called witnesses, including Gonzales's
own mother, who claimed her daughter would likely run away.
Valerie Gonzalez, who raised Virginia since she was thirteen, express
concerns about her daughter's history of missing court appearances. She
didn't show up for a minor charge. Do you think
(03:18):
she will show up for this, Valerie stated, I know
my daughter. She'll make a run for it. Ultimately, Judge
Eldred sided with the prosecution and raised Gonzales bond to
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. She was promptly arraigned,
pleaded not guilty, and her trial is set for January
twenty twenty six. Authorities are urging anyone with information about
(03:39):
the missing ava to please reach out to Austin Police.
More crime and justice news after this while evating law enforcement.
After the suspected murder of his wife, a man from
New York fatally attacked his ex wife. Timothy Taylor has
(04:01):
admitted guilt in the slaying of Tooshaan Taylor, his former
spouse and the mother of his two children, according to
a statement from the County District Attorney's office. Prosecutors revealed
that Folks Taylor was stabbed in her residence on May
twenty eight, after Taylor traveled from North Carolina to upstate
New York. At the time, Taylor was already a suspect
(04:23):
in the murder of his current wife in Brooklyn, where
she had been residing. He is still facing an impending
indictment related to that separate murder case. As noted by
the District Attorney's office on June two, twenty twenty three,
Taylor was apprehended in Philadelphia and subsequently extradided back to
New York to face murder charges. According to a press
(04:45):
release from the County District Attorney's office, Taylor confessed to
detectives that after killing his then current wife, he felt
guilty and believed he needed to go kill his former
wife due to his deep seated resis zent he held
toward her. In his own words, she unlike his first
victim quote, deserved it with his guilty plea. Regarding Folks
(05:07):
Taylor's murder, Taylor is set to receive a sentence of
twenty two years to life in prison. Prior to her death,
Folks Taylor had been married to Taylor for over a decade.
District Attorney Robert Carney remarked in a statement, it is
important to recognize that to Sean Taylor, even while confronting
her attacker and aware of his intention, prioritize the safety
(05:31):
of her children. After inflicting more than twenty two stab wounds,
mister Taylor fled into the night without harming the children.
He added that these children, particularly the oldest to high
school student at the time, along with their extended family,
played a vital role in assisting the office in building
a case against mister Taylor. For the latest crime and
(05:54):
justice news, follow Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite
podcasting app with this Crime Alert timonical party
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