Two children found starving in Dallas motel at center of custody fight

by Rebecca Aguilar

Abneris Santiago

The maternal grandmother of three children found starving in a Dallas motel bathroom wants to take them home with her to Florida. The grandmother appeared in a Dallas County Juvenile courtroom Friday morning for a status hearing on the children's conditions.

Dallas police discovered the emaciated children in July after they got a call from a relative. Investigators say the two boys and a girl were kept in the bathroom day and night for more than a year, and fed little to no food. Detectives describe the children having sunken eyes, flaky skin, bruises all over their bodies and signs of severe malnourishment. A healthy baby girl was also found in a crib in the motel room.

The children's mother, 30-year-old Abneris Santiago, has been charged with injury to a child. Her boyfriend, 37-year-old Alfred Santiago, has been charged with continuous aggravated sexual assault. Both remain in the Dallas County jail, and were not present at Friday's court hearing.

Alfred Santiago

Mary Macias is the court appointed attorney for the children. Macias told the judge that the children's mother had not asked about them. Macias added, "The children are doing good, they've gained weight, they're going to school, making progress in therapy. They've come a long way."

Outside the courtroom, the biological fathers of the 11-year-old girl and the 10-year-old boy were also hoping to get custody of their children. Both men flew in from Florida for the hearing.

"They're monsters, both of them are monsters for what they did to the kids. I'm so mad I don't want to say what I would do to them if they got out of jail," says the biological father of the 11-year-old girl. The 10-year-old boy's father says, "I don't want the grandmother to get custody of my son, because she's the one who let her own daughter take off from Florida with the children. She didn't protect them!"

We're not identifying the fathers by name to protect the identity of the children.

Child Protective Services will now conduct a home study of the grandmother's home in Florida. In November, CPS will make its recommendations to the judge on which family member should get the children. For now, the baby girl and her brother and sister will remain in foster care -- together.

This article was submitted by a member of the Pegasus News community.