SPRING, Texas – The property owner of a nuisance Spring Branch home is accused of child abuse.
After a concerned neighbor reached out to KPRC 2 earlier this week, further investigation revealed serious child abuse allegations against the property’s owners, who now have arrest warrants issued against them.
The homeowners, Jill Anna Harlow and Donnie Garcia, are under scrutiny following allegations concerning their 8-year-old daughter, who has Down syndrome. Court documents show the girl was taken to the hospital on Feb. 18, suffering from severe malnutrition and weighing just 12 pounds.
The probable cause document shares the girl came to the hospital by ambulance “unresponsive” and “near the end of her life,” with one doctor stating that it was unclear how much longer she could have survived without medical attention.
“It was noted that the [child’s] skin was hanging from her extremities and buttocks due to the absence of fat,” the document reads. The doctor who treated the girl apparently told investigators, “The [child] is an 8-year-old female with mosaic trisomy-21 (Down Syndrome) who is 30 inches tall and weighed 12 pounds, the weight of an infant leaving the neonatal period.”
The doctor goes on to say, according to the records, children with Down Syndrome can be shorter, “however, an average 8-year-old with Down Syndrome should be at least 46 inches…the [child’s] celiac disease was undiagnosed and celiac disease can cause kids to potentially be shorter and experience weight loss but not to the degree.”
Janet Pham, a neighbor who first reported the dilapidated condition of the home on Emnora Ln., expressed her shock upon discovering the gravity of the situation.
“I was physically ill when I saw that,” Pham recounted. “They were just living in these horrible conditions with a child that was just going unnoticed and uncared for.”
The court files state law enforcement has been unable to locate Harlow and Garcia.
The spokesperson for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said they couldn’t share who is in custody of the girl.
“I hope they find her. I hope they hold her accountable for that, because that little girl deserves that justice,” Pham said.