Child's skeleton, abandoned siblings found in Texas apartment
One child, aged 15, said his nine-year-old brother's body was in the apartment after being dead for a year
Three children were found "abandoned" in an apartment in the US city of Houston along with a body believed to be their dead brother, which had been in the unit with them for a year, police said Monday.
The oldest child, aged 15, told authorities that his nine-year-old brother "had been dead for a year and his body was in the room next to his," the Harris County sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a Twitter statement.
"Deputies found skeletal remains of a small child," he continued, adding in a press conference that authorities were still trying to confirm the age and how long it had been there.
Both the surviving younger children -- aged seven and ten -- "appeared malnourished and showed signs of physical injury," Gonzalez said on Twitter, adding that Texan police believe the parents had not lived in the apartment for several months.
Their mother and her boyfriend were interviewed by police and released without charge, police said Monday.
At the press conference, Gonzalez called the situation "very horrific" and "very tragic."
The children were taken to hospital for examination and treatment. The investigation is still ongoing, Gonzalez said.
