12-year-old cheerleader dies days after parents treated injuries with smoothies and vitamins, police say

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The parents of a 12-year-old Texas cheerleader were arrested this week after she died of “life-threatening injuries” that they tried to treat with smoothies and vitamins, authorities said. Miranda Sipps’s mom, Denise Balbaneda, 36, and stepfather, Gerald Gonzales, 40, of Christine, Texas, kept the girl in their home even though she could only “flutter her eyes and move her hands a little bit over a four-day period,” after sustaining the injuries on August 8, Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward said during a news conference on Wednesday. “Basically they thought they could nurse her back to health and we do not think they wanted the attention that this would draw if the little girl was injured,” the sheriff said. “Which is strangely ironic, but that was their line of thinking.” open image in gallery Denise Balbaneda, 36, and Gerald Gonzales, 40,, have been arrested in connection with the death of 12-year-old Miranda Sipps.