Parents who gave their dying 12-year-old daughter smoothies to try and nurse her back to health will face a jury trial.
Miranda Sipps, a cheerleader at Jourdanton Junior High School in Texas, faced severe ‘life-threatening injuries’ for approximately four days before tragically passing away on August 12.
In the days leading up to her sudden demise, Denise Balbaneda, 36, Miranda’s mother, and Gerald Gonzalez, 40, her step-father, reportedly attempted to help her by supplying her with nutritious smoothies in an unusual effort to cure her from a debilitating illness that left her in an unconscious state.
According to Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward, Miranda’s condition was dire as she was barely responsive, only able to move her eyes and hands slightly. Throughout this ordeal, her mother and step-father had her confined to a makeshift bed inside their residence.
The sheriff said the parents ‘basically confessed’ to police that they failed to seek medical treatment for Miranda, and instead opted for vitamins, smoothies and supplements even though she could not swallow.
After realizing her child was in respiratory distress, Denise finally decided to call 911 just hours before Miranda was pronounced dead at Methodist Hospital.
On August 16, the sheriff’s office said an autopsy found that Miranda ‘experienced a trauma to her neck,’ but the final medical examiner’s report is still pending.
The couple was officially indicted on Tuesday and are set for a jury trial on February 3, according to court records reviewed by DailyMail.com.
Miranda Sipps, a cheerleader at Jourdanton Junior High School in Texas , suffered from unknown life-threatening injuries for about four days before she tragically passed on August 12
Her mother, Denise Balbaneda (left), 36, Miranda’s mother, and Gerald Gonzalez (right), 40, her step-father, have been accused of giving the child vitamin-rich smoothies in a bizarre bid to heal her from her devastating sickness
At the time, Denise placed Sipps in her car and made her way to the hospital, but 911 dispatchers soon advised her to meet EMS at the intersection of Texas Highway 16 and FM 140 so they could tend to her.
Medics treated Sipps while on her way to the hospital, and staff immediately practiced life saving measures on her once she arrived, but according to Soward, ‘there was nothing they could really do.’
The sheriff previously revealed that the couple might have decided to drive Miranda themselves because they didn’t want police to see their ‘unkempt’ house, KSAT reported.
‘We have determined that upon being found by her mother, Sipps was still alive, although in dire need of immediate medical treatment,’ the sheriff’s office stated at the time.
Miranda’s mother and step-father ‘failed to seek medical assistance for the girl, even though she was mentally and physically incapacitated and non-responsive,’ according to the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Soward said he believes Denise and Gerald chose to ‘nurse her back to health’ themselves because they didn’t want ‘the attention that this would draw if the little girl was injured.’
On Tuesday, both Denise and Gerald were indicted for the crime and will face a jury trial on February 3. (Pictured: Miranda and Denise in 2022)
‘Which is strangely ironic, but that was their line of thinking,’ he added.
Both adults were arrested on August 13 – a day after Sipps died – and later released on $200,000 bond each.
Denise and Gerald have been charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission – a first-degree felony.
Following the tragic death of his daughter, Patrick Sipps, Miranda’s biological father, has taken to Facebook to share his immense grief.
On August 27, he shared heartbreaking images from her funeral as a slew of flowers covered her grave.
‘One of the hardest days of my life. But I know you’re watching over us. We see you painting the sky for us baby love!! So beautiful like you,’ Patrick wrote, adding ‘R.I.P sweet angel Miranda Sipps.’
Following the tragic death of his daughter, Patrick Sipps, Miranda’s biological father, has taken to Facebook to share his immense grief, and said: ‘Love you to the moon and back baby girl’
In September he posted an image of Miranda and said: ‘Wishing you were here with us today. Not a moment goes by that we’re not thinking of you. Love you to the moon and back baby girl.’
A GoFundMe page was also created to help Miranda’s family cover the cost of her funeral.
‘She was taken from us far too soon in an unexpected way, leaving behind a legacy of love, laughter, and memories that we will cherish forever,’ the organizer wrote.
The fundraiser page is no longer accepting donations, but raised more than $8,300 was raised in honor of Miranda.
