Woman arrested in death of stepdaughter
EL PASO, TX
Twenty-eight-year-old Maria Estrella Hernandez of Horizon City
is charged with injury to a minor and capital murder. Jail records
show her bail is $575,000. The public defender's office did not
immediately respond calls regarding Hernandez's case.
A preliminary autopsy cited in an arrest affidavit obtained by
The El Paso Times shows that Joanna Renee Castillo, Hernandez's
stepdaughter, died on July 21 from blunt force injury to the head.
The girl had been hospitalized five days before because she started
having seizures.
The newspaper reports that deputies of the El Paso sheriff's
office spoke to neighbors who claim to have taken pictures of bite
marks on the girl.
