The recordings from the police body cameras and the audio from the 911 call related to the case of a 13-year-old girl chained to a fence in Hialeah were released on Thursday, reported Telemundo 51.
The images and audios reignite public attention on the case of Yashira Marie Maldonado, the 34-year-old woman arrested in July for leaving her daughter chained under the sun.
In one of the videos, an officer is seen approaching the home of the minor's great-grandmother, in the area of West 63rd Street in Hialeah, where the adolescent was standing by the gate with a backpack and her shoes on the ground.
The great-grandmother appears speaking on the phone, describing the situation with distress: "There's a chain in the belly and a chain on the door," she is heard saying while asking for the mother to come back: "Please, let Yashira hurry and come."
The agents managed to free the minor. A second body camera captures Maldonado leaving her apartment accompanied by officers and walking towards the patrol cars.
In the 911 audio, a man identifying himself as the girl's father reports that he received a call from the mother of his ex-partner— the girl's maternal grandmother— who informed him that she had found the teenager abandoned and bound.
The father clarified that he lives in Melbourne and was unaware if the girl was still there: "I have no idea. I don't live there," he responded when asked. He then added, "I’m just assuming she’s there," and mentioned that he estimated the location based on an address in court documents.
The events took place on July 11: Maldonado arrived in a car around 9:05 a.m. at his great-grandmother's house, placed a metal chain around his daughter's waist, secured her to the fence, and left. Five minutes later, he sent a text message to the great-grandmother that said: "I was fired from my job!"
The great-grandmother attempted to free the girl unsuccessfully and, fearing retaliation from her landlord, did not call the police immediately. Instead, she contacted her own daughter —the mother of Maldonado— who went to the accused's apartment, but the door was not opened. It was she —the girl's grandmother— who finally alerted the authorities, who arrived around 10:00 a.m. and found the minor chained, although apparently in good health.
Next to the teenager was a backpack containing clothes, diapers, wipes, and medications, but with no water or food. The incident occurred during a heat wave in South Florida, with temperatures ranging from 92 to 94 °F and a heat index of up to 110 °F.
The police report states that Maldonado admitted to the detectives that she felt overwhelmed by caring for her daughter after losing her job and needed a break.
The mother accused of chaining her daughter in Hialeah faces two third-degree felony charges under Florida law —child abuse and child neglect without serious bodily injury— each carrying a sentence of up to five years in prison.
He was released after posting a $10,000 bail and submitted a written plea of not guilty.
The judge prohibited all contact with his daughter. The court also ordered the appointment of a representative for the teenager within the criminal proceedings.
The next hearing of the case is scheduled for Monday, November 9th.
Those who know of or suspect child abuse situations in Florida can call the Department of Children and Families (DCF) hotline at 1-800-962-2873, available 24 hours a day.
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