Austin police respond to a home in Del Valle after receiving a 911 call about a 7-year-old girl who discovered starved and locked inside a bedroom closet.
Six other children are also found in the home, but police say it appears they are physically healthy. According to reports, the child was soiled and barricaded in a closet with heavy boxes blocking the door.
An arrest affidavit reveals Virginia Marie Gonzales is accused of locking the 7-year-old girl in a closet for “weeks at a time.”
The affidavit further states the girl’s grandmother told police that the child had trouble controlling her bladder and often ate things she shouldn’t.
This allegedly led to her siblings being instructed to keep her locked in the closet.
The 7-year-old was hospitalized and is now recovering. During the investigation, detectives learn about another child, Ava, who has been missing for years. Virginia Marie Gonzales, Ava‘s mother, was arrested on a charge of serious injury to a child in connection with the 7-year-old’s case.
According to police, the missing now 9-year-old child was last seen when she was just 2 years old and in the custody of her mother, Virginia Marie Gonzales.
Now, Gonzales has rejected a plea offer related to her arrest. The State offered Gonzales a 40-year prison sentence in exchange for her guilty plea. She and her attorney, Gabe Hernandez, rejected the offer, calling it “utterly absurd.” Gonzales is still in custody.
Trial is set to begin January 26, 2026.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
Additional Guests
- LeAnne Marie – Friend of Mom, Virginia Gonzales
- Daryl Parker – Private Investigator at Blackfish; Former Lieutenant in the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office, Private Investigator at Blackfish Intelligence Former Marine, Former Texas Police Officer worked with the Innocence Project of Texas for the last ten years); Instagram: @blackfishintel, FB – blackfishintelligence
- Virginia Bagby – Director of the ChildHelp National Child Abuse Hotline; Facebook and Instagram: @ChildHelp
“Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” on Fox Nation is also a national radio show on SiriusXM channel 111, airing for two hours daily starting at 12 p.m. EST. You can also subscribe and download the daily podcasts at iHeart Podcasts.
[Feature Photo: Ava Gonzales, Handout/Virginia Gonzales, Austin PD]
