An East Texas woman and her boyfriend face serious felony charges after a 70-year-old woman accused them of locking her in a dog kennel, starving, and physically abusing her since January.
Leonnia Darlene Castillo, 47, and Tommy Lee Anderson, 58, were arrested Saturday after the unidentified septuagenarian approached an officer with the Malakoff Police Department and described harrowing allegations of abuse she said took place from January 5 to August 22.
The 70-year-old woman was living with a female relative, Castillo, and Castillo’s boyfriend, Anderson. She told the police officer that the couple forced her to remain outdoors in the blazing summer heat until she vomited–at which point they allowed the woman to come indoors, only to lock her inside a dog kennel, according to the arrest affidavit obtained by KLTV. The alleged victim accused the couple of coercing her into purchasing the canine crate.
The woman also told the officer Castillo and Anderson starved her. The affidavit stated the couple “would yell at her and not let her drink or eat.” Additionally, the 70-year-old alleged that Castillo and Anderson took her debit card and withdrew her disability money. The duo purportedly refused to buy any food for the woman, according to the affidavit.
Furthermore, the woman told the Malakoff PD officer that family member Castillo attempted to drown her in the bathtub, kicked her in the crotch, and held her to the ground with her knee, causing a bruise on the victim’s breast, according to the police report.
In addition to the aforementioned allegations, the affidavit noted: “[The victim] also stated that she was stripped naked down to her panties and forced to walk on glass that Castillo broke by throwing at her.”
KLTV reported that while the purported victim spoke to the Malakoff officer, he noticed the 70-year-old had a bruised left eye, numerous red, circular sores on her back, and cuts on her feet. She even had what looked like a hand print on her left arm, the affidavit stated.
The arrest affidavit indicated the victim said relatives tried to come and remove her from Castillo’s Malakoff-area home in Log Cabin, a tiny, rural Henderson County city which had roughly 715 residents in 2014, according to city-data.com. Apparently, these other family members were unsuccessful in their efforts because Castillo would not let them take the woman from the premises.
Then, on August 22, other relatives finally arrived and picked up the victim, according to police documents. They took her with them back to Mesquite, a suburb located east of Dallas.
Online records show police charged Castillo with first degree felony injury to an elderly individual with the intent to inflict serious bodily injury and mental deficiency or impairment. Anderson was charged with felony unlawful restraint exposing an individual to serious bodily injury. Both were booked into the Henderson County Jail.
On Monday, Anderson was released from jail after posting $15,000 bail. However, Castillo remains behind bars, held on $50,000 bond.
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