According to police records, Jessica Cantu, 35, was arrested on Friday after an autopsy revealed that her daughter Juelz Gonzalez ‘could not have shot herself due to the gunshot being from a distance and not close proximity.’
According to the San Antonio Sheriff’s Office, “at first, it was reported to police that the child shot herself.”
‘During the course of the investigation, investigators gathered additional evidence, including the medical examiner’s report, which ascertained the child had not shot herself,’ the sheriff’s office said.
Cantu told investigators that she was in the bathroom of her home in San Antonio, Texas, with her four-year-old daughter when they heard a loud ‘pop’ sound late at night on February 18.
According to the mom, Juelz was lying in bed at the time, watching a movie on his cell phone.
Cantu and her boyfriend, 32-year-old Joshua Christopher Ramirez, who owned the gun, reportedly ran into the bedroom to discover Juelz shot.
Ramirez was arrested for reportedly owning the weapon used in Juelz’s death.
The medical examiner’s report provided enough probable cause for officials to issue a warrant for child endangerment.
Cantu has been charged with endangering a child four months after the tragic incident. Additional charges against the couple have not been ruled out by the district attorney.
Carrie Wilcoxson, a child abuse prevention advocate, said Cantu and Ramirez were in responsible for Juelz’s safety.
‘You as a caregiver has a responsibility, whether you’re committing the actual act, or you’re aware of what’s happening, you have a duty to protect, you have a duty to act,’ Wilcoxson told Fox 29. ‘This was preventable. That’s the part of this that is so tragic.’
