Inside the Disturbing Case of Teen Who Withered Away While Foster Mom Allegedly Cashed Girl's Disability Checks
The 16-year-old victim was found wearing only a diaper and weighing 78 lbs. when she died, say police
Houston Police Department
Tracy GonzalesContent warning: The following article contains disturbing descriptions of abuse.
A Texas foster mother is facing serious criminal charges after the teenaged girl in her care died weighing just 78 lbs. while the woman cashed the child’s disability checks.
On Dec. 30, 2024, Tracy Gonzales, 48, was arrested and charged with injury to a disabled person with serious bodily injury in connection with the March 25, 2024 death of Nayeli Perez, 16, the Houston Police Department said in a release.
On March 25, 2024, officers responded to a home on E. 32nd St. in Houston about a report of a deceased person.
Inside the home, officers found an unresponsive girl, later identified as Perez, in her bedroom, suffering from unknown injuries, the department said in a release.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police began investigating her death after the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled Perez’s death a homicide.
“Following further investigation, Gonzales, who acted as Perez's caretaker, was arrested on December 30 and subsequently charged for her role in the victim's death,” the HPD said in the release.
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Gonzales is being held on $200,000 bail at the Harris County Jail.
Perez had disabilities, and court documents obtained by PEOPLE show an allegedly disturbing picture of the girl’s life before she died.
According to the Personal Bond/Bail Order, Gonzales was granted custody of Perez and received disability payments for the girl, who had the math and reading level of a first grader.
It is unclear when Gonzales began caring for Perez.
According to the order, Gonzalez failed to contact authorities regarding Perez’s “declining status” because she was afraid she would lose custody of her children.
Gonzales was allegedly abusive to the girl. According to the order, Gonzales allegedly admitted to disciplining Perez with a belt. The woman said “she would close her eyes and didn’t know where she struck (Perez),” it alleges.
Gonzales said she would strike Perez because of her “inability to use the bathroom and eat food,” it alleges.
When officers found Perez, she was only wearing a diaper because all of her other clothes were soiled, the order claims.
The autopsy showed that Perez had suffered stab wounds to her genitals, as well as malnutrition and dehydration.
Gonzales said “she was gone all day and returned home to the (foster child) being ‘a little hard,’” it alleges.
Additionally, a criminal complaint against Gonzalez goes on to allege that on or about March 25, 2024, Gonzales “did knowingly cause serious bodily injury” to Perez by failing to provide adequate fluids, adequate food and nutrition, adequate medical care and adequate supervision to the teen.
Neighbors told ABC 13 Eyewitness News that they were shocked by Gonzales’s arrest.
"She actually went to school with my daughter," Frank Rodriguez told ABC 13. He said he believed Perez had a learning disability and had been diagnosed with autism.
"She was just a normal girl. Going to school," Rodriguez told ABC 13.
Perez stopped attending school about a year ago, Rodriguez said, ABC 13 reports.
In February 2022, medical records show Perez weighed 40 lbs. more than what she weighed when she died, ABC 13 reports.
Gonzales’s public defender did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
She is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 7.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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