STILESVILLE — A Hendricks County father and stepmother are accused of abusing and confining an 11-year-old girl in a locked basement room for months before her death.
Kenneth Vazquez and his wife Elba Sofia Vazquez are each charged with Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death, a Level 1 felony, according to probable cause affidavits.
On February 14, deputies and medics responded to 6163 W US 40 in Stilesville around 1:24 a.m. for an unresponsive 11-year-old girl. Life-saving efforts were unsuccessful, and the child was pronounced dead at the scene.
The child was severely malnourished with bruises covering her arms and legs, multiple scratch wounds, deep cuts, and bruising on her wrists and ankles, according to the affidavit.
She also had open blisters on her feet. When the child died, Kenneth was heard saying "Why couldn't you just be good," court documents state.
Police found evidence of prolonged abuse in the home's basement. The child had been locked in an unfinished basement room with handprints and blood on the walls, hair stuck in a drywall hole, and blood on the floor and towels, according to the affidavit.
The door was screwed shut from the outside with a dresser blocking it. A Ring camera was mounted on the wall to watch the child. The room had no furniture, bedding, or blankets.
Other children in the home told investigators during forensic interviews that the 11-year-old suffered a pattern of abuse:
- Being tied to a bed frame
- Being denied clothing and forced to use a bucket for bathroom needs
- Being denied food or given only beans, rice, or sardines "when she was good"
- Being forced to perform naked calisthenics in the basement and outside in cold weather
- Being bathed with unheated water in the basement
The children said the victim was locked in the basement for days at a time. When she was "very good," she could eat at the kitchen counter but never at the dinner table with the family, according to the affidavit.
Court documents show Kenneth was heard beating the child on February 13, just before midnight. Between midnight and 1 a.m., a witness found the child "not moving" in an upstairs bathroom shower. She was put in a hot shower to warm her up, then placed under a heated blanket before 911 was called.
When questioned, both the father and stepmother claimed the child was "problematic" and would hurt herself, according to the affidavit. Elba said she planned to take the child for medical care, but records show the girl hadn't seen a doctor since May 2024.
The child's biological mother signed over custody to Kenneth in September 2024. She said the child was healthy and energetic when last seen in July 2024. DCS had contact with the girl in May 2024 and photographed her looking healthy, court documents state.
