Hidalgo Co Sheriff

Mayra Rosales

EDINBURG, Texas — A nearly half-ton Texas woman charged in the death of her 2-year-old nephew will remain in her house because the county jail lacks a large enough cell or the medical resources, prosecutors said.

A state district judge on Monday agreed not to send Mayra Rosales, who weighs nearly 1,000 pounds, to jail provided she wear a global positioning system tracker until her trial.

Rosales, 27, was indicted last week on capital murder charges in the March 18 death of Eliseo Gonzalez Jr. Prosecutors say the toddler was hit at least twice in the head while in the care of the bedridden Rosales.

Sergio Valdez, Rosales' attorney, did not immediately return messages left for him Tuesday.

Prosecutors said the possibility of checking Rosales into a hospital and putting her under 24-hour surveillance was ruled out due to the prohibitive cost, the McAllen Monitor reported.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino has argued that incarcerating Rosales would be impossible because the county jail does not have a cell large enough to hold her or medical staff equipped to handle her medical needs.

Prosecutors allege 20-year-old Jamie Rosales, Eliseo's mother, left the toddler with his bedridden aunt even though she knew that the woman was incapable of caring for him. She faces one felony count of injury to a child, punishable by life in prison and $10,000 in fines upon conviction.