3 Blanco children alleged victims of child abuse

Girl, 1, not expected to survive, police chief says

BLANCO, Texas – The Texas Rangers and Child Protective Services are investigating the alleged abuse of three children in Blanco.

Julie Moody, a CPS spokeswoman, said the agency is filing for emergency custody of the children. Moody also said the agency had prior contact with the family, but would not elaborate.

Blanco police Chief Michael Ritchey said the first officer to arrive at an apartment complex told him, "There's something not right about this."

Ritchey said a 1-year-old girl is on life support in the intensive care unit at University Hospital Wednesday and was not expected to survive.

The baby girl suffered bruising to the side of her head, face and lower jaw, and was being treated in the living room by EMS when he arrived, Ritchey said

"It's just horrific. It's hard to deal with when you see that 1-year-old lying on the floor," Ritchey said.

He said two other children, a 2-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy, were in a bedroom.

"They knew something happened, but they didn't know exactly what," Ritchey said.

Those two children were also hospitalized with suspicious injuries, Ritchey said. He said the boy suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and had bruising all over his head. The girl also
had bruises and other injuries.

"(It's) hard to say what happened. We're waiting on the medical people to give us their diagnosis," Ritchey said.


About the Authors:

Jessie Degollado has been with KSAT since 1984. She is a general assignments reporter who covers a wide variety of stories. Raised in Laredo and as an anchor/reporter at KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley, Jessie is especially familiar with border and immigration issues. In 2007, Jessie also was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.

David Ibañez has been managing editor of KSAT.com since the website's launch in October 2000.