Police in Gatesville, Texas, responded to a call on July 20 around 9 p.m. reporting a nine-month-old baby girl being neglected by her parents. When officers arrived at the home, they found the infant in “extreme malnourishment.” She was “severely underweight” with her ribs, collarbones, shoulder blades, and spine visibly protruding through her skin. Police noted that the child’s eyes were sunken, and she looked extremely pale.

According to a report by Law and Crime, the baby girl weighed six pounds, 14 ounces, when she was born. Her mother, Jenny Sanchez, said she stopped breastfeeding at four months old and never gave the baby formula. Instead, the infant was fed only water and squeezable baby food pouches, which contributed to her declining health. 

Sanchez admitted the girl had been sick with the flu and had never seen a doctor or received a checkup since birth.

Paramedics immediately rushed the baby to Baylor Children’s Medical Center, where doctors found that the baby weighed only 7 pounds, 16.3 ounces. Medical staff called it one of the worst living cases of infant malnourishment they had ever seen, warning that her condition was life-threatening.

Doctors found bone abnormalities and diagnosed her with “refeeding syndrome,” a dangerous condition that occurs when food is reintroduced to a severely starved body. Staff warned she could face long-term growth issues along with physical and mental development delays.

Following the investigation, Judge Coy Latham issued arrest warrants for both parents. Police arrested the child’s parents, 23-year-old Jenny Sanchez and 22-year-old Adariance Rahman, who were the primary caregivers of the child. Both face charges of child endangerment and injury to a child causing serious bodily harm.

Child Protective Services (CPS) got involved and took custody of the baby, while two older children were placed with a relative. 

Netizens criticized the parents while hoping for a speedy recovery for the child. 

“All I can say is that everyone needs to pray for the baby and not worry about those two the poor kids are always the ones that suffer,” wrote one commentator on Facebook. 

Another user noted that those who saw the child and didn’t report need to be held accountable as well, “…the ones who said they SAW THE BABY AND IT LOOKED FINE AND HEALTHY needs to get their eyes checked!! By no means are my eyes perfect but i know an unhealthy baby when i see one… I don’t see how people can go and have their backs after this… NO BABY NO CHILD NO ONE deserves that… Reading this made me bawl my eyes out and made me sick to my stomach,I don’t see how people can read this and try to come up with an excuse for them!! As a MOTHER myself I could NEVER FEED MYSELF BEFORE FEEDING MY KIDS! And you best bet if they said they were still hungry and I still had food on my plate they are getting it! NO CHILD DESERVES TO GO HUNGRY!!!”

“Generational ignorance at the child’s detriment. This is in the news daily. Let justice be served,” added a third user. 

A separate commentator factored in postpartum which could have taken a toll on the mother, “…i do not believe they intentionally harmed the baby i think ignorance and postpartum played a big party the important thing is the baby and siblings are safe and their parents are held responsible they are young and family should have stepped in and helped sooner maybe before this point but its the parents job. the other children were healthy; the baby was breastfed until Mom recently ran dry and sadly did not supplement with formula. The kids being safe is what’s important. So let’s pray for their health and stability and safety.”

Disclaimer: Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available.