4-year-old girl dies after pot of boiling water falls on her, stepmom accused of not seeking medical help for over 12 hours
CORSICANA, TEXAS: A woman has been charged following the death of her step-daughter who died after she was drenched in boiling water.
According to reports, Juana Marquez, 42, was bathing her children when she heard her 4-year-old daughter's screams at her home in Corsicana, Texas last Friday night.
Marquez told the police that she rushed into the kitchen to find her stepdaughter, 4, covered in burns. As reported by People, the child had "pulled a large boiling pot of water from the stove." The water had fallen all over her head, torso, arms and other areas of her body.
According to WFAA, Marquez allegedly treated the burns with normal cream and then gave the child milk and put her to bed.
The police revealed in their statement that the child was dead around twelve years later. Marquez was then arrested on Monday and charged with a second-degree felony of abandoning or endangering a child. The little girl was later identified as Amberly Quiroz. As per early results from the medical examiner, the injuries had been a result of the boiling water.
The arrest warrant revealed that the stepmother had treated the burns using Nexzoma cream on the wound in the hopes that "it would cool the burns for her." Marquez's husband was not at home at the time of the incident and works outside the state.
At the time of the incident, Marquez was tending to her three other children who are below the age of 6. The stepmother shared that she was unable to leave her other children and get medical help for little Quiroz.
The body of the child was discovered the next day in the morning when Marquez called in a report of an unresponsive child. The Corsicana Police Criminal Investigation had access to all available evidence and had also interviewed all the residents present at the location. They had also asked for an autopsy to be conducted on the child.
As per the arrest affidavit, "Juana failed to provide any assistance to Amberly, including medical assistance or even attempting to call for assistance."
As reported by The Corsicana Daily Sun, Marquez is currently being held on a $50,000 bond at the Navarro County jail.