SAN ANTONIO – Warning: The following content may be graphic for some readers.
Two people are facing capital murder charges in connection with the death of their 10-year-old adopted son, San Antonio police announced Wednesday.
Around 9:20 p.m. on Sept. 24, authorities responded to a report of an unresponsive child at a home in the 5600 block of Cielo Ranch on the Northeast Side. The child was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Christina Miranda, 32, and Jonathan Miranda, 34, who are the guardians of the child, were both arrested Wednesday without incident at a nearby residence, police said.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the adopted son as 10-year-old Michael Miranda. His cause of death is still under investigation by the medical examiner’s office.
Michael Miranda is adopted but still biologically related to Christina and Jonathan Miranda, police said. Their exact relationship is unclear.
According to police, Michael Miranda suffered clear signs of trauma and abuse from the past year.
Police said the medical examiner found injuries on Michael Miranda’s body, including fractures that appeared to be healing at different stages, along with contusions.
Police said they also obtained video footage of the alleged abuse.
Neither Christina nor Jonathan Miranda said anything to reporters on Wednesday as officers separately walked them to cars outside Public Safety Headquarters.
According to arrest affidavits for Christina and Jonathan Miranda obtained by KSAT, authorities noted Michael Miranda was very small for his age and appeared to show “signs of possible starvation and malnutrition.”
Christina Miranda told investigators that she and Jonathon Miranda had monitored the boy in the laundry room for “the past couple days” due to an illness, the affidavit said.
“The laundry room had been examined and it was apparent that it had been arranged, and had been occupied, for much longer than the two days that were being reported,” the affidavit said.
Investigators also said the room showed “signs of struggle and some sort of violence,” noting broken drywall found inside.
People who lived inside the home corroborated statements that the boy was physically assaulted daily, describing methods of assault including hitting with paddles, the affidavit said.
The affidavit listed a likely cause of death as severe blunt force trauma to the abdomen.
Other children in the home are being investigated for signs of physical trauma and abuse, police said. They did not say how many children also lived there.
Additional information was not immediately available.
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