HOUSTON - A woman and her boyfriend have been charged in the death of an 8-year-old girl and injuries to her surviving twin sister.
The Houston girls were malnourished and physically abused over an extended time, according to court documents.Soledad Mendoza, 29, and Ruben "Alex" Moreno, 29, were taken into custody last week and are both charged with capital murder – under 10 years of age for the death of Melanie Mendoza and two counts of injury to a child for her twin sister.Houston Police say the girl died on the night of December 21, 2020, after she was taken to Memorial Hermann - Memorial City Hospital with multiple injuries and bruises by Houston Fire Department paramedics.RELATED: 10-month-old baby girl dies after being left in car for several hoursOfficers responded to a welfare check at the hospital for reports of a deceased child, where they found the victims were grossly emaciated and had signs of malnutrition or starvation and multiple injuries, including chronic rib fractures.Despite being 8-years-old, they both only weighed less than 30 pounds, wore diapers, and were "extremely malnourished and unkempt."Investigators say that there were two other siblings in the household, 7 and 12 years old, who were seemingly in perfect health, including a younger sibling who was physically bigger than the twins.