A mum has been arrested after the body of her daughter was found set in concrete and used as a bedside table in her San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina, home.
The police launched an investigation following a complaint by the girl’s father on October 24 and the victim’s body was found at her mother’s house four days later.
Vanesa Alejandra Mansilla, 27, claimed to police she found five-year-old Milagros dead.
When questioned by the police after finding the body, the mother told them that she was “scared” and did not know what to do about her daughter’s death.
But police accuse her of placing her daughter’s body in a nylon bag inside a wooden box before filling it with concrete, according to reports.
Friends and family claimed that she favored her other two children, aged seven and three, while Milagros was often left alone in unsanitary conditions.
The mum is said to have used the crate as a bedside table in her home for at least a few months.
A police spokesperson said: “She used the box with the body as a bedside table in her bedroom. She was a young girl who was born prematurely, had multiple pre-existing conditions and had a tracheotomy and a nasogastric tube.
“[Vanesa] said everything happened one afternoon. After bathing her three children, she went to take a nap and when she woke up, she went to see the girl who had already passed away.
“She said that she had a runny nose and drool on her mouth, that she choked.”
Prosecutor Daniel Cangelosi said: “So far, there is no record of previous complaints of gender violence.”
According to concerned family members, the last time they saw Milagros alive was on July 30 for the birthday of one of her siblings.
Ms Mansilla’s two other children have been placed in the temporary care of their maternal grandmother.
The authorities are still waiting for the autopsy results and an analysis of the bed mattress which was found with blood marks.
The mother is currently being held in police custody as the investigation continues.