WACO (KCEN) — Laura Sanchez, the mother of 2-year-old Frankie Gonzalez, was charged with first degree felony injury to a child after the body of the toddler at the center of a statewide Amber Alert was found in a dumpster on 27th Street and Alice Avenue in Waco June 2.
According to the arrest affidavit, Gonzalez died May 28 while in the care and custody of Sanchez. She kept the body in her house until about May 30 when she disposed of the toddler's body in the dumpster behind Park Lake Baptist Church.
Sanchez confessed after family members told investigators she was lying. She then led investigators to the dumpster where she had disposed of the body. She had placed the body in a trash bag, put another bag over it and then placed a third bag over Gonzalez's body.
She was then taken to the McLennan County Jail and bond was set at $500,000.
Sanchez first reported to Waco police that her son had gone missing at Cameron Park near University Parks and Herring Drive in Waco on June 1. The report led to a search around the park and around the Brazos River by Waco police, the Waco Fire Department and the McLennan County Sheriff's Office. An Amber Alert was issued for Gonzalez Monday night by the Texas Amber Alert Network. It was later confirmed that the boy was never at the park.
In an interview with investigators, Sanchez said the boy had been with her adult son in Killeen over the weekend. When investigators asked about the weekend visit, family members said it was a lie, according to the affidavit. Following interviews with Sanchez and family members, investigators determined Sanchez had "told several lies."
On June 2, Sanchez's brother called investigators and said "his sister had confessed." Investigators then went to Sanchez, who led them to the dumpster where the body was found.
