12-Year-Old Girl Locked in Closet For a Year Because She Wanted to Eat, Say Texas Police

By: Kealan Oliver
Topics: Daily Blotter

(Brownsville Police Dept.)

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (CBS/AP) Alfredo and Leticia Ines locked their 12-year-old daughter in a closet for nearly a year with no light and minimal contact with the world, according to Texas police.

Photo: Leticia Ines' mug shot.

The girl was released to go to school, eat or use the bathroom in the family's small home, officials said. She would do her homework by a thin sliver of light shining beneath the closet door.

One of her three brothers came to her rescue by alerting school officials. Her mother, Leticia Ines, told police she was trying to keep the 12-year-old from stealing food from the refrigerator.

Photo: Alfredo Ines' booking photo.

According to Rio Grande Valley, Texas news station KRGV, the girl was told to use a bucket as her bathroom at night and was forced to clean it every morning. The station also reported that neighbors were unaware of the alleged abuse.

Jail records indicate that the father, 43-year-old Alfredo Ines, and the mother, 40-year-old Leticia Ines, are being held on charges of unlawful restraint and injury to a child. The 12-year-old is in foster care, according to the station.

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by crazy4layne February 21, 2012 9:55 AM EST: Wow, that fat lady sure eats enough, but she starved her own child? I hope she and her ugly husband get LIFE and never see their kids again.; Reply to this comment


by rwsmith29456 February 20, 2012 3:17 PM EST: Salt of the earth.; Reply to this comment

by msay3 February 16, 2012 4:00 PM EST

Yeah, if she stole food from the fridge that would be less food for FAT MOMMA!!! Have you looked at the mother's picture? She is a two ton freak!!!!!

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by rmm26a February 17, 2012 12:09 PM EST: Exactly, the mom was probably the one stealing from the fridge the entire time. What a fat tub of lard


by ckp016c February 15, 2012 7:38 PM EST: I bet your sweet $#% they ate when they wanted to! People like this have no place in the human race.; Reply to this comment

by Mike_in_USA February 13, 2012 11:10 PM EST

Well on the other side.. we have been told milk will kill us, sugar should be outlawed, McDonalds food is lethal (fast food in general), our drinking water is polluted, fish are not safe, red meat causes all kinds of problems and on and on... So, maybe this woman was just trying to protect the girl. We all know boys don't matter in the U.S. anyway. Right?

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by mariannpepit February 20, 2012 10:46 AM EST: There is no excuse for anyone man or woman to be that fat. They starved that girl because they hated her and hoped she would die from not eating. The woman and man could stand not eating for one year to reduce their big fat bodies. Do you know what it like to be seated inbetween to people like them on the bus? They take up a seat and one half. This girl needs to be with a family who will give her a normal family life and they need to be locked up in prison for at least 20 years. But knowing the court system they probably will get probation.

by catwoman1952 February 8, 2012 5:02 PM EST

looks like Mom was worried there wouldn't be enough for her fat a**

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by mendomonk February 10, 2012 3:26 PM EST: Oops, my reply a moment ago was meant for the "over-rated" comment below this'n...


by ISurvived February 7, 2012 3:46 PM EST: Looks to me the mother was saving all the food for herself! PIGS!!!!! They should do the same to the parents!; Reply to this comment


by Minisongbird April 6, 2011 5:03 PM EDT: This sounds like something from "The Child Called It".....lol. Not funny, but very similar.; Reply to this comment

by BOSSDAWG31 December 1, 2010 2:30 PM EST

The kids listed in this story are not the only lives this man man has almost ruined. He has two other daugthers from a previous marriage. There names I will not mention. Needless to say that a horrible way to see your father. The man left his family when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. He took what little money she had and the car. He abandoned her and there two girls. Before she died she left her girls to her sister to raise them as her own. She new what kind of man he was and didnt want her girls to suffer the way she already had with this man for the years she was with him. The girls vagly remember this man. He aprently dosent remember them because his hasent looked for them even though he knows the live in Alice TX with there aunt. Never has he sent money for child support. The one thing she could not understand was how she could be takin out of this world with two dauthers left to raise. While he was still out there being the cruel person he was when she needed him the most. Thats when he became involved with this other person. Thankfully these girls have had a loving family surrounding them to help in there raising. One thing the girls have learned of this is that they have a half brother out there even if they dont get a chance to meet him.

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by mariannpepit February 20, 2012 10:54 AM EST: Thans for the story. What a bum. He likes living off the fat of the land. These two deserve each other. Put them both in a cell together and throw away the key. Starve them both for one year and don't give them any freedom out of the cell. I also have very little trust in DCFS knowing how they have been neglectful at times in Chicago. I hope the news gives us a follow-up on this story.


by BOSSDAWG31 December 1, 2010 2:27 PM EST: The kids listed in this story are not the only lives this man man has almost ruined. He has two other daugthers from a previous marriage. There names I will not mention. Needless to say that a horrible way to see your father. The man left his family when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. He took what little money she had and the car. He abandoned her and there two girls. Before she died she left her girls to her sister to raise them as her own. She new what kind of man he was and didnt want her girls to suffer the way she already had with this man for the years she was with him. The girls vagly remember this man. He aprently dosent remember them because his hasent looked for them even though he knows the live in Alice TX with there aunt. Never has he sent money for child support. The one thing she could not understand was how she could be takin out of this world with two dauthers left to raise. While he was still out there being the cruel person he was when she needed him the most. Thats when he became involved with this other person. Thankfully these girls have had a loving family surrounding them to help in there raising. One thing the girls have learned of this is that they have a half brother out there even if they dont get a chance to meet him.; Reply to this comment