Las Cruces couple charged after 8-year-old left in wooden cage
LAS CRUCES — Police have arrested a Las Cruces mother and her live-in boyfriend who are suspected of leaving the woman's 8-year-old adoptive daughter home alone and locked in a wooden cage.
Cindy Patriarchias, 33, and Edmond Gonzales, 37, of the 100 block of Mohawk, were arrested Friday evening. Patriarchias is charged with one count of negligently causing child abuse while Gonzales is charged with one count of negligently permitting child abuse.
Las Cruces Police were called to the couple's home shortly before 7:30 p.m. Friday to check on the welfare of the young girl who was suspected of being left home alone while Patriarchias and Gonzales took the woman's three other children to watch a movie at Columbia Elementary School.
Officers found the mobile home to be dark and it appeared to be unoccupied. Nearly an hour later, Patriarchias returned home and allowed officers inside. While checking the home, an officer allegedly discovered a large wooden cage in the corner of a bedroom. Inside the cage was Patriarchias' 8-year-old daughter.
The officer removed the girl from the cage and carried her outside the home, where she was attended to by medical personnel. The girl did not appear to have any physical injuries as a result of the containment, but detectives learned that she suffers from microcephaly, a rare neurological condition characterized by the child's head being significantly smaller than normal, often accompanied by developmental issues.
The homemade wooden cage measured roughly 29 inches wide, 60 inches long and 49.5 inches tall, roughly the size of an average baby crib. The cage had two latches on the door and a crib mattress inside.
Detectives report that Patriarchias insisted on leaving her daughter home alone, confined in the wooden cage, while her other three children and boyfriend attended a school-sponsored movie.
Patriarchias' estranged husband called police when he arrived at the school and learned that the 8-year-old girl had been left unattended at home.
Detectives discovered that Patriarchias was in the process of adopting the 8-year-old girl.
Patriarchias and Gonzales were booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center with cash-only bonds set at $25,000 each. Detectives are continuing their investigation.
The family's yard was empty Monday afternoon and one neighbor in the mobile home community declined to speak with the Sun-News.
Futon mattresses, plastic storage bins and wood panels sat on the wooden porch on the side of the house. Monkey bars and a green plastic slide connected to the patio. Nearby, in the dirt yard, sat a statue of three small children sitting on a log, their arms around each other.