The parents of a 1-year-old Phoenix girl have been arrested after police discovered the girl's father allegedly had bitten her and ripped out her hair.
According to court documents obtained by New Times, the girl's father, 18-year-old Abiezer Zuniga, "began to laugh" while describing to police how he bit the girl.
The parents of the 18-year-old mother, Sandy Aranda, called police on Saturday after not seeing their granddaughter for a while.
According to court documents, police went to check the child's welfare at the home, near 39th Avenue and Buckeye Road. Police immediately noticed the child's injuries, including the bite marks, and sought medical treatment.
Meanwhile, Aranda told police that on three different occasions, Zuniga had taken their daughter into the bedroom and closed the door and heard the girl screaming. She said she'd noticed the injuries and knew Zuniga had bitten the girl.
Aranda told police that she didn't call anyone for help because she didn't want her daughter "to be without a father," court documents state. She also was scared that she might be jailed over an incident in which she hit Zuniga with a glass bottle, she told police.
Meanwhile, court documents indicate Zuniga admitted to abusing the girl. According to the documents, Zuniga admitted to pulling out her hair, biting her on the face and legs, and slapping her on the mouth because she was crying. He also admitted to hiding the girl from other family members so they didn't see the injuries.
Additionally, the arresting officer wrote the following in a probable-cause statement: "During the interview with [Zuniga], while describing to police when he was biting the victim, [Zuniga] began to laugh."
Both parents, Zuniga and Aranda, were booked into jail on child-abuse charges.
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