HOUSTON – It was a story that made national news headlines: A 1,100-pound woman confined to her king-size bed, unable to walk or stand on her own, was facing a death sentence.
It was not just because of her weight, though. Mayra Rosales of Hidalgo County, Texas, was also accused of murder.
In 2008, Rosales' 2-year old nephew, Eliseo, was killed. Rosales confessed, claiming that she had accidentally crushed the boy with her body as he lay under her bed. Rosales went on trial for the bizarre crime, and the trial was nothing short of a spectacle.
Her story was made into a TLC documentary, and she was dubbed the "Half-Ton Killer" in the press. She was so large that she had to be cut out of her home and transported in a moving van to be booked on the murder charge.
But soon, investigators began to unravel the truth and found out that there was no way Rosales could have committed the crime to which she had confessed. The autopsy revealed that the child had suffered head trauma consistent with repeated child abuse.
When pressed to show defense attorneys how she rolled out of the bed and onto the boy's body, Rosales could only cry. In fact, she could not move around the bed without someone helping her out. Once it was determined that Rosales could not have killed her nephew, she was cleared of the charges.
Investigators then discovered that Rosales' sister, Jamie Rosales, had killed Eliseo. Figuring that she was going to die soon from complications of obesity, Rosales said she confessed to the crime because she wanted to help her sister.
"It's the most painful thing I have ever been through. I don't wish it on anybody," said Rosales.
Jamie Rosales stood trial and was convicted in May 2010 of causing injury to a child. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
"I have forgiven my sister and she has forgiven herself. She knows that what she did is wrong," said Rosales. "She has been taking therapy. She's going to church in the prison."
Even though Mayra Rosales' legal woes were over, her life was still in danger of being cut short because of her morbid obesity. She soon made a decision that would give her a new lease on life.
Rosales met with Houston surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, a regular on TLC's "My 600-Pound Life" and an expert in treating the morbidly obese. Nowzaradan began working with Rosales to help her lose weight, and ultimately save her life.
"Mayra most likely was the heaviest woman in the world, being over 1,000 pounds," said Nowzaradan. "She had tremendous lymphedema in the leg, you know. Her legs were almost about 300, 400 pounds."
Because Rosales was so large, she had to lose weight just to undergo gastric bypass surgery. The first step of Nowzaradan's plan was to hospitalize Rosales. She was put on a strict 1,000-calorie diet. She lost 100 pounds in 10 days.
"I had my first surgery in 2012, and we began by skin removal. First he tried by taking out some of the fluid in my legs," said Rosales.
Rosales finally lost enough weight to undergo gastric bypass surgery. Once she had the gastric bypass surgery, she was able to lose even more weight. Today, she weighs 200 pounds, a far cry from her once "half-ton" weight.
"I've been the only woman in the world at 1,100 pounds and the only woman in the world that has lost all that weight," she said proudly. "Dr. Nowzaradan saved my life."
Rosales still needs more surgeries to remove swelling and skin on her legs, but she has put her painful past behind her and is finally enjoying her new, healthier life.
"(I have) a normal life that people take for granted and just getting on a Ferris wheel, going to California, going to Las Vegas, you know, things that I wouldn't have never been able to do," said Rosales.
Rosales has started a Facebook page to encourage others who are struggling with their weight. She can be contacted at Get Fit with Mayra.
Her sister, Jamie Rosales, is scheduled to be released from prison in 2016.