FRIDAY NIGHT SPECIAL: GIRL, 7, FOUND LOCKED IN CLOSET STARVED, MOM " I WANT TO FIGHT FOR MY KIDS" SPEAKS OUT IN COURT
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline
4.2 • 8.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 July 2025
⏱️ 45 minutes
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Summary
A 7-year-old girl is found locked in a closet, now the search is on for her 9-year-old sister, Ava Marie Gonzales. Austin police respond to a home in Del Valle after receiving a 911 call about a 7-year-old girl is discovered starved and locked inside a bedroom closet. Six other children are also found in the home, but police say it appears they are physically healthy. According to reports, the child was soiled and barricaded in a closet with heavy boxes blocking the door.
An arrest affidavit reveals Virginia Marie Gonzales is accused of locking the 7-year-old girl in a closet for “weeks at a time.” The affidavit further states the girl’s grandmother told police that the child had trouble controlling her bladder and often ate things she shouldn’t. This allegedly led to her siblings being instructed to keep her locked in the closet.
The 7-year-old was hospitalized and is now recovering. During the investigation, detectives learn about another child, Ava, who has been missing for years. Virginia Marie Gonzales, Ava ‘s mother, was arrested on a charge of serious injury to a child in connection with the 7-year-old’s case. According to police, the missing now 9-year-old child was last seen when she was just 2 years old and in the custody of her mother, Virginia Marie Gonzales.
In court Gonzales says she is willing to do whatever necessary to regain custody of her children.
Joining Nancy Grace today,
- LeAnne Marie, friend of mom, Virginia Gonzales
- Bronwyn Blake- Adjunct Professor, University of Texas School of Law; Chief Legal Officer, Texas Advocacy Project; Founder: Teen Justice Initiative, advocating for teen victims of dating violence. Website: texasadvocacyproject.org; Facebook and Instagram: @TexasAdvocacyProject
- Dr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, AngelaArnoldMD.com, Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University, Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital
- Daryl Parker - Fmr. Lieutenant in the Fannin County Sheriff's Office / Private Investigator at Blackfish Intelligence; Former Marine, Former Texas police officer; has worked with the Innocence Project of Texas for the last ten years; website: wwww.blackfishintel.com; instagram: @blackfishintel, FB – blackfishintelligence
- Virginia Bagby - Director of the ChildHelp National Child Abuse Hotline, website: ChildHelp.org; Facebook and Instagram: @ChildHelp
- Dr Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), NEW Podcast "Mayhem in the Morgue" launching soon, Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University)
- Christina Aguayo- Investigative Reporter, website: www.ChristinaAguayoNews.Com, Facebook: @ChristinaAguayoNews, Instagram: @Christina.AguayoNews
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:04.8 | Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. |
| 0:10.5 | Okay, it's Friday night and it is special. |
| 0:15.2 | Good evening. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories Friday night special. When I say special, I mean special. |
| 0:24.7 | Now, here's a woman. Nobody will forget. I don't know if you're going to remember her name. |
| 0:32.4 | Virginia Gonzalez, but you'll remember this. The mom of multiple children, including a seven-year-old little |
| 0:41.2 | girl, found locked in a dark closet that was barricaded down to about 26 pounds, fed one |
| 0:51.1 | corn dog a day, if that. |
| 0:54.7 | Well, I'm looking at her mugshot. |
| 0:56.1 | Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. |
| 0:57.7 | What happened to those massive fake eyelashes? |
| 1:02.7 | Where did they go? |
| 1:04.4 | Uh-oh, here she is in the raw. |
| 1:07.5 | And Miss Thing comes into court and demands to speak. |
| 1:12.3 | Of course, I could not be happier. |
| 1:14.9 | That's right. |
| 1:15.9 | A mom of a little girl just seven years old at 26 pounds. |
| 1:20.7 | I think John David weighed that at five months for Pete's sake. |
| 1:25.7 | Locked in a closet, barricaded in the closet, the closet dark, in their 24-7, |
| 1:33.2 | 365 gets one corn dog a day if that speaks out in court. Now, before I tell you what Ms. |
| 1:43.6 | Thing says in court, let me jog your memory about what |
| 1:49.7 | happened. On April 3rd, 2025, Austin Police Department responded to a 911 call for a seven-year-old |
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