Arizona child, 6, dies after being kept in closet; parents and grandmother arrested

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The parents and grandmother of a 6-year-old child were arrested by Arizona police after the malnourished boy was found dead inside a closet, authorities said.

Anthony Jose Archibeque-Martinez, 23, Elizabeth Archibeque-Martinez, 26, and Ann Marie Martinez, 50, were arrested and booked into the Coconino County Jail, KNXV reported. They were charged with first-degree homicide and two counts of child abuse.

Police went to a Flagstaff home Monday after receiving a report of an unresponsive child, KTVK reported. Officers began lifesaving efforts when they arrived but were unable to revive the boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene by firefighters, the television station reported.

Detectives interviewed the boy’s parents, who admitted to keeping him and his 7-year-old brother in a bedroom closet without food, KNPX reported. The parents estimated the children were kept isolated in the closet for about a month, the television station reported.

The children’s grandmother also admitted to knowing about the boys being isolated in the closet, and admitted she disciplined them when they stole food, KNXV reported.

The Arizona Department of Child Safety took custody of the boy’s surviving siblings, who are 2, 4, and 7, KTVK reported.

Cox Media Group