Redmond girl, victim of alleged abuse, died from emaciation, dehydration

REDMOND, Ore. — A Redmond girl whose caregivers face charges of murder died from emaciation and mild dehydration, the state medical examiner’s office said Friday.

Maliyha Hope Garcia died Dec. 21. She was 5 years old.

Her autopsy did not conclude how she became so emaciated. Her official manner of death is listed as “undetermined,” said Dr. Clifford Nelson, a deputy state medical examiner who performed the autopsy.

An indictment against Estevan Garcia and his wife, Sacora Horn-Garcia, allege the central Oregon couple withheld adequate food and medical care from Maliyha for nearly a year leading up to her death.

Horn-Garcia’s attorney, Aaron Brenneman, confirmed that Estevan Garcia adopted Maliyha, his niece, before the couple married. The wedding was in December 2014, according to social media posts. Maliyha was 3 years old.

Both adults face charges of murder by abuse, manslaughter and criminal mistreatment. The couple was indicted earlier this week and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon in Deschutes County Circuit Court.

They will enter pleas at a later date, Brenneman said.

He said he had met with Horn-Garcia but could not comment further on the case. Garcia’s attorney could not yet be reached.

Nelson said Maliyha’s autopsy was not completed until months after she died, because he was awaiting results from lab tests.