Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office: 3-year-old's death officially ruled a homicide
A mother in Donna has officially been charged after her three-year-old daughter died from extensive injuries and failing to report it.
Wendy Sarai Rivera, 25, was arraigned on Friday and charged with failure to report serious body injury or death and injury to a child. Her bond was set at $2.5 million.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to the 9700 block of Klarissa Drive in rural Donna on November 21 at around 4:30 p.m. in regard to an unresponsive child.
The sheriff's office said preliminary findings revealed the little girl suffered extensive injuries including bruises, lacerations, burn and bite marks; this indicated prolonged abuse.
The sheriff's office said an autopsy report revealed the child's cause of death to be blunt force trauma, and they have officially ruled her death as a homicide.
Rivera was arrested after admitting to knowing about the injuries and failing to report them, according to the sheriff's office.
The sheriff's office said as part of the ongoing investigation they have secured a warrant for the little girl's father, 23-year-old Jose Manuel Uretsi, on charges of capital murder. Investigators with the sheriff's office and federal law enforcement are actively searching for Uretsi.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact the sheriff's office at 956-383-8114 or the Hidalgo County Crime Stoppers at 956-668-8477.