A 4-month-old girl is in critical condition and fighting for her life while her teenage aunt is behind bars.
San Benito police arrested 17-year-old Ada Marlene Rodriguez on a second-degree felony injury to a child charge on Thursday.
Investigators told Action 4 News that officers were called to the Harlingen Medical Center on Tuesday.
Police said a baby girl was listed in critical condition and later transferred to the Valley Baptist Medical Center.
The girl’s parents found their 4-month-old daughter face down on a car seat and not breathing in a bedroom of their house.
San Benito Police Lt. Martin Morales said the girl’s mother was taking her children to school.
Morales said the mother didn’t want to take the baby girl with her and left her with Rodriguez, the girl’s maternal aunt.
Lt. Morales said the baby girl was not buckled in the car seat when she was left with Rodriguez.
It’s not clear what happened to the girl while her mother took her other children to school but Morales said the girl was injured under very “suspicious” circumstances.
“It’s very suspicious circumstances that an 4-month-old can turn completely around in a car seat,” Morales said. “The only one with the child was the 17-year-old.”
Rodriguez told police that she was asleep the whole time and did not know her niece had been left with her.
The 17-year-old aunt is expected to be arraigned on Friday morning.
Morales said the investigation continues while the 4-month-old girl remains in critical condition.
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