SAN ANTONIO — Investigators say when 3-year-old Ronni Salazar was dropped off at University Hospital by her guardian on Sept. 27, the little girl was in an unresponsive state.
The child's mother, Kassandra Lopez, said the doctors told her the young girl was suffering from massive bleeding in her head from blunt force trauma. She was also bruised from head to toe, and had internal injuries consistent with sexual abuse.
Lopez said doctors told her the outlook was bleak. If her daughter did survive her injuries, blindness and paralysis were part of her prognosis.
San Antonio police officials have now arrested the woman who was caring for the girl at the time. Evonne Monica Perez, 49, has been in jail since Oct. 1 on a $200,000 bond, charged with injury to a child with serious bodily injury.
On Oct. 27, after a 29-day fight for survival, Ronni died. The medical examiner has not yet made a final ruling on her cause and manner of death.
Aside from saying his office was "reviewing all evidence" while leaving the door open for potential additional charges, District Attorney Joe Gonzales provided no further comment on the case.
In an online funding campaign to help pay for funeral expenses, Lopez wrote: "Ronni touched a lot of hearts and has made a lot of impacts on peoples lives."
Lopez and a Child Protective Services spokesperson agree that Ronni and her brother were not in a court-ordered care situation.
The mother said she was going through some hard times, and because Perez had cared for her son in the past, she asked the woman to look after both children again.
"She was supposed to care for them for six months so I could get back on my feet," Lopez said. "It was not court-ordered. I knew her. I asked for help."
The mother added that Perez left the young girl at the hospital before later calling to check her status. She was arrested when police told her to return.
Ronni's brother was found unharmed, and a CPS spokesman said he has been checked out and placed in a care setting. Meanwhile, funeral arrangements for the little girl are still pending. The link to the funeral fund can be found here.
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