The grandmother of a teenage girl with epilepsy who died after the police said that she had been locked up in an improvised cage for a long time has been sued by a large jury in ArizonaThe Maricopa County law firm announced.
Virginia Lujan, 55, is accused of child abuse and other crimes after death last month of her granddaughter, who suffered from a rare form of epilepsy and had cognitive impairment Which means she functions at the level of a 3-year-old.
Lujan called on January 20, 911 to report that her granddaughter did not respond in her two -storey mansion in Tempe near US 60 and Mill Avenue, said prosecutors.
When officers arrived, they found the girl on the floor of the living room with stains and bruises on several parts of her body. She was transported to a hospital, where she died the next day.
Virginia Lujan, 55, is accused of child abuse and other crimes after her granddaughter died after she no longer responded in her house.
“No child should ever endure suffering,” said McCoy, the police chief of the city, the day after her death, by Fox 10.
“We are dedicated to discover the truth and seek justice on behalf of her. The tragic loss of a child is a profound memory of our shared responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in our community.”
The police said they discovered a bunk beds that had been adjusted in an improvised housing where the victim was kept for a long time, along with coarse unsanitary conditions throughout the house.
Police, according to Fox 10 PhoenixLujan’s house described as “disorderly and filthy”, with waste that the floors of the house are seen and dead insects such as cockroaches in different parts of the house.
The grandmother of a teenage girl with epilepsy who died after the police said that she had been locked up in an improvised cage for a long time has been sued by a large jury in Arizona. The police speak on a press briefing the day after her death. (Fox 10 Phoenix)
When investigating where the girl was held, the police discovered an elevated bed frame, similar to bunk beds inside, with the exception that there was no bed or mattress on the bottom, according to judicial documents cited by Fox 10.
Instead, the high bed frame created a space under the upper bed.
A large rail, large enough to enclose the long right side of the bed and another rail with plastic baby gates, were found by this bed. These items were attached together to the frame as walls for a housing or cage, the exhaust reported.
These components were held together with plastic zip tires. The police also said that there was human waste on the floor in the housing.
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According to researchers, the victim was one of the five children of 33-year-old Jami Hodges, Lujan’s daughter. They varied in age from 2 to 15 years.
In 2021, Hodges transferred four of her five children’s guardianship to Lujan, and at the time of the victim’s death, she had been withdrawn from her mother because of structural issues that forced her from her former house, per Fox 10.
They lived in a tight room in her mansion with three bedrooms, the police said.
The family lived in a “disorderly and filthy” mansion with three bedrooms, the police said. (Fox 10 Phoenix)
Hodges and her 2-year-old daughter slept in the living room on the ground floor, while Lujan had her own bedroom on the second floor. The remaining two bedrooms shared the rest of the children, researchers wrote in the judicial documents.
They also wrote that none of the children of Hodges were registered in go to or go to school.
Hodges, according to police reports, quoted by Fox 10, said that when she returned home from the dental on the back of her legs earlier on January 21.
The girl later took a turn, and Tempe Police Department Officers and crews with Tempe Fire Medical Rescue were called to the house around 9 p.m.
Lujan told First Responders that the victim had fallen a few days earlier, researchers wrote.
The victim was covered with bruises on different parts of her body. The bruises were described as in different stages of healing, while dried blood was found in her right ear and her face seemed swollen.
Vehicles from Tempe Police Department. The police of the department responded to the stage. (Caitlin O’hara/Bloomberg via Getty images)
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The victim was taken to the hospital and was declared dead hours later.
Hodges was arrested but was released pending costs.
Lujan is currently being held on a secure $ 500,000 outer bond, According to Maricopa County Attorney’s office.
She is also accused of messing with physical evidence, tampering with a witness and three counts of contributions to the dependence on a child.
