An autistic woman was reportedly tortured by her caregivers in New Mexico before she died, officials said Thursday.
Three suspects who were paid by the state to care for the victim in their own homes were arrested in connection with the extreme abuse and neglect of Mary Melero. Angelita Chacon, 52, and Patricia Hurtado, 42, were charged with abuse or neglect, false imprisonment, conspiracy to commit false imprisonment, and failure to report. Luz Scott, 53, an acquaintance of the caregivers, was also charged with false imprisonment and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said Melero was discovered in Scott’s van by border officials when the suspected caregivers tried to cross the Texas border into Mexico with her in February.
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Who was Mary Melero?
Melero, a 38-year-old woman, was in a medical crisis before her death and had signs of abuse and neglect. She died on April 7 after being rushed to the hospital.
“In my nearly 20 years as a prosecutor, I can tell you without question that the injuries that Mary endured, that the harm that was inflicted upon her, was nothing short of torture,” Torrez said at a press conference.
When Melero was found in the back of the van, she was not able to stand up and was unresponsive. According to an arrest affidavit for Chacon obtained by USA TODAY, Melero was crying as she lay on the floorboard wrapped in a blanket. Her open wounds were covered in dirty bandages. Chacon told the authorities that they were taking Melero for treatment in Mexico.
Melero had pneumonia by the time she was admitted to a hospital in El Paso, Texas. She also had wounds across her body, bedsores, and ulcers. Some of them were so severe that her bone was exposed. She was also covered in abrasions and ligature marks “that indicated that she had in fact been restrained,” Torrez said.
Melero reportedly spent three days in a bathtub with her own feces and urine. Investigators assume that this might have contributed to fatal infections that led to her death, according to the affidavit.
Chacon also told detectives that Melero threw a portable stereo at Chacon. When the suspect “threw” it back at the victim, it hit her in the face and caused her lip to get “busted.” Instead of taking Melero to a doctor, Chacon instead asked a friend, who was not a medical professional, to stitch up the victim’s lip.
Torrez said Melero went into septic shock and suffered cardiac arrest at the hospital. She had to be intubated until her death. “Based on the numerous injuries covering (the victim)’s body, medical staff deduced she was the victim of a pattern of abuse and neglect,” the affidavit said.
