Harris County officers are investigating a gruesome scene inside a Houston apartment where a dead boy was left to decay in plain sight for an entire year while his young siblings watched.
A 15-year-old boy called police Sunday to report that his 9-year-old brother was dead and left with him and his two other siblings for months after their parents abandoned them.
When officers responded to the apartment, they confirmed the teen’s report after finding skeletal remains of a young boy inside the residence where other boys, 10 and 7, also lived.
“Heartbreaking,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. “Units found three juveniles abandoned in an apartment. Skeletal remains, possibly of another juvenile, were also found inside the unit.”
The older brother informed detectives that he didn’t see his parents for a while and it appeared the boy was caring for his younger siblings. All children were visibly malnourished.
“I have been in this business a long time and never saw anything like this,” Gonzalez said. “We’re connecting all the dots at this point; it appears the kids were in there while the body was deteriorating.”
