A grand jury in Arizona has indicted Virginia Lujan, the grandmother of a teenage girl with epilepsy who tragically passed away. The girl had reportedly been confined in a makeshift cage for prolonged periods according to the authorities.
Virginia Lujan, 55, is facing charges of child abuse and other offenses connected to the death of her granddaughter. The teenager had a rare form of epilepsy and cognitive disabilities, functioning at the level of a 3-year-old.
Lujan contacted emergency services on Jan. 20 after finding her granddaughter unresponsive in their two-story townhouse situated in Tempe near U.S. 60 and Mill Avenue.
The victim, according to investigators, was one of five children belonging to 33-year-old Jami Hodges, Lujan’s daughter. They ranged in age from 2 to 15 years.
In 2021, Hodges transferred four of her five children’s guardianship to Lujan, and at the time of the victim’s death, she had moved in with her mother because of structural issues that forced her out of her former home, per Fox 10.
They lived in a cramped space inside her three-bedroom townhouse, police said.
The family lived in a “disorderly and filthy” three-bedroom townhouse, police said. (Fox 10 Phoenix)
Hodges and her 2-year-old daughter slept in the living room on the main floor while Lujan had her own bedroom on the second floor. The rest of the children shared the remaining two bedrooms, investigators wrote in the court documents.
They also wrote that none of Hodges’ children were enrolled in or attending school.
Hodges, according to police reports cited by Fox 10, said that when she returned home from the dentist earlier on Jan. 21, she noticed that the victim was “acting off” and that she saw a large rash or discoloration under the victim’s armpits and on the back of her legs.
The girl later took a turn, and Tempe Police Department officers and crews with Tempe Fire Medical Rescue were called to the home at around 9 p.m.
Lujan told first responders that the victim had fallen a few days prior, investigators wrote.
The victim was found covered in bruises on various parts of her body. The bruises were described as being in various stages of healing, while dried blood was found inside her right ear and her face appeared swollen.
Tempe Police Department vehicles. Police from the department responded to the scene. (Caitlin O’Hara/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The victim was taken to the hospital and was declared dead hours later.
Hodges was arrested but was released pending charges.
Lujan is currently being held on a $500,000 secured appearance bond, per the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
She is also charged with tampering with physical evidence, tampering with a witness and three counts of contributing to the dependency of a child.
