WARNING: Story Contains Disturbing Details
PHOENIX — Mayra Solis has been sentenced to 17 years in the Department of Corrections for the role she played in the horrific abuse of her 3-year-old daughter who was rescued from a closet, found in a trash bag and covered in filth. Solis plead guilty to one count of Child Abuse for the severe malnourishment of her daughter, and two counts of Attempted Child Abuse for leaving her daughter with Francisco Covarrubias, who has previously been sentenced to 35 years for the abuse he inflicted on the child.
“A little girl’s life has been impacted forever by the extreme physical and emotional abuse she endured in her very early years,” said Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel. “Acts like this defy all comprehension, and the heartbreak is amplified in the knowledge that they were perpetrated by her own mother. Today’s sentence was just, but can never make this innocent girl whole again.”
Sometime in late 2015, Solis had shaved her daughter’s head. The two were seen on surveillance camera at a local Walmart in January 2016 and a witness called and reported seeing a child that looked malnourished and the mother was asking for money saying the child had cancer. A forensic pediatrician who examined the child after her rescue found the child found the child suffering from malnutrition. Solis admitted she tried to pass her daughter off as a cancer patient to get money.
On January 18, 2016 officers received reports that a 3-year-old girl was being severely abused by her caretaker and he was possibly offering the young child to other men to sexually abuse. Once officers located the Mesa apartment where the girl was seen, they found Covarrubias inside the apartment but no sign of the little girl. Mayra Solis met Covarrubias when they were coworkers at a prior job and admitted to occasionally leaving her daughter with him for days at time.
Covarrubias finally admitted to officers the victim was being kept in a closet. They discovered the young girl on the floor of a hallway closet inside of a trash bag that had been pulled up to the top of her head. Once officers freed her from the trash bag they found that she had tape over her mouth and tape bounding her wrists and ankles. She had multiple bruises and injuries and had obviously been left in a heavily soiled diaper for some time.
The little girl was taken to a nearby hospital where she was found to be malnourished and dehydrated. She also had extensive injuries related to being left in soiled diapers and possible sexual abuse. She was not able to communicate and could barely stand.
