A 16-year-old boy, P., was starved and medically neglected by his mother, Elizabet Estrada. No charges were filed on behalf of Estrada’s other children, two of whom were 18 or older and one of whom was younger than P. All four children were homeschooled.
P. was born in December 2002 and last saw a doctor at age three, when he weighed 22 lbs. According to statements made by Estrada, who homeschooled them, the children didn’t “have a lot of contact outside the home.” P. was developmentally disabled with limited verbal ability. Estrada claimed that she “wanted to treat him at home.” When he was rescued in 2019, P. weighed only 26 lbs. and was three and a half feet tall; doctors diagnosed him with psychosocial dwarfism due to “extreme deprivation or stress”. His three siblings appeared healthy.
The abuse came to light when Estrada took P. to the hospital in October 2019 and health workers saw his emaciated state. They reported the situation to child services, who got the police involved. Estrada was charged with child endangerment and aggravated assault. P. was hospitalized and he and his younger sibling were removed from Estrada’s custody.
Date: October 2019
Location: Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
>
