The two children at the center of a Hialeah supermarket abuse investigation remain in state custody, while their mother, Madelien Inurrieta-Martinez, faces two counts of child abuse with great bodily harm. A judge set bond at $5,000 and ordered her to have no contact with the children at a Monday court appearance, according to NBC 6 South Florida. The station also reported an immigration hold.
What the report says happened
The allegations concern a Wednesday supermarket visit with Inurrieta-Martinez’s 4-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. Citing an arrest report, NBC 6 reported that she pulled the older child’s hair and ears, then grabbed the younger child and bit the child’s right ear. Store surveillance video reportedly captured the incident, with the children heard screaming; separate footage outside the building reportedly showed her striking them in the face.
The supermarket manager contacted police after reviewing footage the next day, the station reported. Police initially did not find Inurrieta-Martinez. Officers later saw her walking with the children near East First Avenue and 13th Street, several days after the incident, and arrested her, according to NBC 6. The station reported that she denies attacking her children.
Custody status does not establish a finding in this case
NBC 6 reported that the children are in the custody of Florida’s Department of Children and Families. Florida Courts’ dependency benchbook describes a general shelter-hearing inquiry: whether the petition and any other evidence support probable cause that a child has been abused, neglected or abandoned, or faces imminent danger of illness or injury. That guidance does not show whether a shelter hearing occurred in this family’s case or what findings, if any, were made.
The reported charges and allegations are not findings of guilt. The available account does not describe the next steps in either the criminal case or the children’s custody matter.
