Severely Malnourished 1-Year-Old Girl Dies With Sores On Body; Parents Charged

The parents of a severely malnourished 1-year-old child who died with sores on her body are now facing charges, an arrest affidavit has revealed.

Sage Wright, 22, and Christian Bishop-Torrence, 24, were arrested at 1005 Westerly Place in Wichita Falls Friday evening in connection with the death of their child, the Wichita Falls Police department said in a news release Sunday.

The child died on June 11 after she was transported to a hospital. A medical evaluation revealed that during her death, the girl weighed only 8 pounds, which was way below the average weight of a 1-year-old child. Medics also noticed that the child had dirt plastered to her skin and had small circular blisters on her lower back and buttocks, reported News Channel 8.

Police charged the parents with an offense of injury to a child, elderly or disabled person with the intent of causing serious bodily injury or mental injury.

During a police interrogation, both Wright and Bishop-Torrence said they had noticed their child losing weight since January but had not sought any medical help. Wright, the victim's mother, admitted she had not been able to bond with the victim as she had spent more time with her two other children.

According to Bishop-Torrence, the victim's father, he saw his daughter gasping for breath on June 11 while he was going out to get some fast food. He also noticed a rattle when the girl exhaled. He then rushed her to the emergency room of a hospital using his friend's car that had been outside his house, the arrest affidavit revealed.

A forensic medical report on the victim's death ruled out certain possibilities that generally cause weight loss in infants.

"Even though a small chance exists that a genetic or metabolic problem could cause weight loss, normal newborn screens and the lack of family history would make this highly unlikely," Dr. Suzanne Dakil, who works with the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, said in the forensic report.

Both Wright and Bishop-Torrence are currently being held at the Wichita County Jail on Sunday in lieu of $500,000, court records indicated.