(WHDH) — A mother is facing criminal charges after authorities say she “failed to feed” her 16-year-old son who weighed just 26 pounds.
Elisabet Estrada, 41, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, was arrested last week on charges including aggravated assault and two counts of endangering the welfare of children, according to the Chambersburg Police Department.
Officers responding to Estrada’s Kelhigh Drive home on Oct. 24 found her severely emaciated son, along with other children who “appeared to be in good general health,” the Chambersburg Public Opinion reported, citing newly released court documents.
The 16-year-old boy weighed in at 26 pounds when he was admitted to an acute care setting at Hershey Medical Center, the documents said. He was said to be “very frail, gaunt, ribs extremely evident and ravenously hungry.”
While in the hospital, police say the boy “laid in a fetal position,” appeared as if he “didn’t have the ability to stretch out in his bed,” and regurgitated his food as if he never ate at home.
Estrada insisted that she “did everything” for her son and “voiced anger” with genetics specialists who were working with him, the documents said.
During the course of an investigation into the boy’s poor health, authorities reportedly determined that Estrada “failed to appropriately feed him.”
Estrada’s son received hospital care until Dec. 2, during which time he is said to have gained nearly 20 pounds, in addition to growing in height.
She is being held on $25,000 bail. She is slated to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 28.
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