Starving two-year-old girl bound in duct tape found by maintenance workers: police

Two maintenance workers called police after they found a nonverbal two-year-old girl bound with duct tape while servicing a dishwasher in a Houston apartment, police said. 

According to a criminal complaint, the child suffered injuries indicating physical abuse, psychological abuse and neglect, including a brain bleed caused by head trauma. She was malnourished and suffering from a kidney injury, and her weight was equivalent to that of an average one-year-old. 

Doctors said that the girl might not have survived through the night had she not been brought to the hospital, court documents state.

The maintenance workers told police they had received a work order and went to the apartment on November 28, 2023. While repairing the dishwasher, they allegedly heard the child cry and discovered her lying on the living room floor "with her legs duct taped."

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The witnesses saw the toddler covered up with a blanket, and when they removed the it, they saw her feet were tied up, the complaint states. They took a picture and a video, left the apartment and alerted authorities, police said. 

Toniesha Deshae Perkins, the girl's cousin; Kenry Joseph Flukers, Perkin's boyfriend; and Mya Jhari Breaux-McGruder, the child's teenage aunt, who all lived in the apartment together, were arrested and charged with injury to a child and unlawful restraint of a person under 17, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. 

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Perkins' defense attorney said her client would plead not guilty. An attorney for Flukers did not respond to a request for comment. 

Breaux-McGruder's counsel, Sally L. Ring, told Fox News Digital her 17-year-old client was inappropriately charged. 

"It is my understanding that the child was left in the care of the adults at the residence, as her mother was unable to provide for her," Ring said. "My client is a 17-year-old high school student, who was staying at the residence only temporarily. I do not believe the state has the evidence to prove what they have alleged against my client. I pray for the healing of that child, and look forward to representing Ms. McGruder." 

Flukers denied to police that he had ever seen the child with duct tape around her ankles, just her hands. He said the girl would not eat when given food but would sneak food from the refrigerator, trash can and pantry, and that her hands were bound to prevent her from doing so.

There were five other children who lived in the home and appeared to be in good health, according to the complaint.

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When confronted with the photo of the girl tied up, Perkins blamed it on her children, stating that they tie each other up, the documents say. 

Two of the children interviewed by authorities, six-year-old twins, said they saw their parents, Perkins and Flukers, duct tape the two-year-old because she "wastes" food. One of the twins said the toddler "gets popped" if she removes the duct tape and that Perkins and Flukers allegedly used a belt to "whoop" the girl. 

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The twin also said Perkins instructed her to tell anyone who asked about the duct tape that she and her twin brother had been wrapping each other up.  

The toddler had been living at the residence for the past three months and was in the full care and custody of Perkins. Her mother lives out of state, according to court documents.