News

Mom Charged After ‘Skeletal’ 42-Pound 16-Year-Old Son Dies of Malnourishment

NewsPublished Sep 11, 2019
By Kaitlin Stanford
Home f Pizarro-OsorioFOX 6

A 32-year-old Wisconsin mother is behind bars following the death of her 16-year-old son, in what police are describing as an alarming case of abuse and neglect. The teen, who had special needs, was severely malnourished at the time of his death last week -- weighing a mere 42 pounds, with bones clearly visible. However, Iraida Pizarro-Osorio insists that her son's weight had never surpassed 80 pounds and that his condition was the result of his disabilities, which were caused by a genetic disorder.

Pizarro-Osorio took her son Hector to a health clinic last week claiming he was sick, but staff could see right away something was terribly wrong.

The teen was so thin, he was reduced to little more than a skeleton, and many of his bones were visible through his skin. He also had painful bedsores all over his body, and according to a criminal complaint filed later, was "unresponsive, had a faint pulse, and appeared extremely emaciated." In fact, he was so frail, his weight placed him "in the zero percentile on the CDC's growth chart for boys ages 2-20," the complaint noted.

People reports that medical staff dialed 911 almost immediately and paramedics were rushed to the scene. But ultimately, they were unsuccessful in saving the boy, who quickly slipped away.

Although Pizarro-Osorio spoke with police shortly after her son's death, it didn't take long for them to see things just weren't adding up.

At first, Pizarro-Osorio said she'd recently brought her son to see a doctor in Puerto Rico, while the family was on vacation. She claimed he'd become sick and was refusing to eat, but that when she took him to a clinic, she was turned away because she didn't have medical insurance. 

Later, the mother recanted her story, admitting that she'd never traveled to Puerto Rico at all. Instead, she claimed that she lied to police so child protective services wouldn't take her three children from her.

Pizarro-Osorio also insisted that the boy had both autism and epilepsy, which were contributing factors to his physical condition.

In addition to Hector, Pizarro-Osorio reportedly has two other children, though their whereabouts as well as their physical health is unknown.

The criminal complaint added that police spoke with an unnamed 18-year-old about Pizarro-Osoio's parenting and the condition of the home. The teen stated that in March, "the defendant placed a lock on the outside of (the teen's) door to prevent (him) from leaving his room at night."

Disturbingly, when Pizarro-Osoio was questioned about this, she "claimed the lock was to ensure that (the teen) did not leave his bedroom at night," the complaint stated.

It continued: 

"The defendant claimed that she would feed (the teen) dinner and then lock (the teen) in his bedroom at bedtime. When (the teen) fell asleep, the defendant claimed she opened the door back up so that the defendant could hear if (the teen) suffered a seizure." 

For now, the mother remains in jail on $35,000 bail while she awaits trial and awaits a public defender. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 18.

Cafemom Logo
This is motherhood #nofilter

AboutTermsContactPrivacyPRIVACY SETTINGSSUBMIT A STORY
© 2024 WILD SKY MEDIA.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PART OF WILD SKY MEDIA
| FAMILY & PARENTING
CAFEMOMMAMÁSLATINAS
LITTLETHINGSMOM.COM
This site is owned and operated by Bright Mountain Media, Inc., a publicly owned company trading with the symbol: BMTM.