Court records describe visible injuries days before Janessa Martinez received emergency care and later died at a hospital.
SPRING, Texas — Days before 2-year-old Janessa Martinez arrived at a hospital with life-threatening injuries, her mother allegedly knew the girl’s mother’s boyfriend had struck her but did not seek treatment because she believed he would be jailed, according to investigators and court records.
That alleged decision is at the center of the criminal case against Janessa’s mother, Jazmin Cisneros, 28, whose prosecution differs in a significant way from the case against her boyfriend, Gerardo Gonzalez, 29. Authorities accuse Gonzalez of directly assaulting the toddler. They have not publicly accused Cisneros of taking part in the physical attacks. Instead, prosecutors charged her with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury based on what they describe as an omission: knowing that Janessa had been hurt, failing to protect her and failing to obtain medical attention. Both adults were jailed after Janessa was found unresponsive on Aug. 6. She died several days later.
The first warning described in court documents came on Aug. 1. Cisneros told investigators she noticed that Janessa’s right ear looked unusual and appeared to sag lower than the other ear. According to an arrest affidavit, she confronted Gonzalez about the condition and he admitted hitting Janessa several times in the head. The child’s condition looked worse the following morning, investigators said. One side of her face was extremely swollen, and she had a black eye. Those observations are important to the prosecution because they place Cisneros on notice of both an injury and an alleged admission of violence days before emergency help was finally sought.
Investigators said Cisneros explained why she did not contact police or take Janessa to a doctor at that stage. The affidavit says she told authorities she knew Gonzalez would go to jail if she sought help. That statement became one of the most consequential allegations against her. The case is therefore not limited to what happened at the moment Janessa stopped breathing. Prosecutors are examining the days beforehand and asking whether a caregiver who allegedly recognized signs of abuse had a duty and opportunity to intervene before the child’s condition became catastrophic.
Additional information disclosed in court broadened that question beyond Aug. 1. At an Aug. 14 hearing, prosecutors said Cisneros had recently spoken with a detective and allegedly acknowledged another episode of abuse from July that had not been reported. Local reporting did not provide enough publicly verified detail about that earlier allegation to establish exactly what occurred, who witnessed it or what injuries, if any, resulted. The disclosure nevertheless indicated investigators were examining whether the August events were preceded by another warning. As with the other allegations, the prosecution would have to prove any relevant facts through admissible evidence in court.
The defense has offered a competing context for Cisneros’ conduct. Attorney James Stafford said family members claimed Gonzalez threatened Cisneros, including threats involving supposed cartel connections, and threatened to kill her if she did not comply. Those claims were raised by the defense and have not been established by a court as factual findings. They could nevertheless become significant if prosecutors rely on Cisneros’ failure to act as the basis for criminal responsibility. The case may require a jury to distinguish between what investigators say Cisneros knew, what the defense says she feared and what Texas law required her to do as the child’s caregiver.
While the case against Cisneros concerns alleged inaction, investigators describe affirmative violence in the case against Gonzalez. According to court records, Gonzalez initially said Janessa had fallen in a bathtub and become unconscious. Investigators said the medical findings did not fit that explanation. The toddler had a fractured skull, a broken pelvis, liver damage and widespread bruising. After being advised of his rights, Gonzalez admitted hitting Janessa in the head four times on Aug. 1, authorities said. Investigators further allege he assaulted her again on Aug. 6, including by striking her and stepping on her body.
The second alleged assault was followed quickly by the emergency response. Cisneros told authorities that Gonzalez woke her while she was sleeping and said Janessa was not breathing. The adults then left with the child and sought help at a Spring gas station where law enforcement officers happened to be nearby. Deputies began lifesaving measures, and paramedics took Janessa to a hospital before she was airlifted to another medical facility. Doctors performed emergency treatment, but authorities said her injuries were so severe that medical staff did not expect her to survive.
Janessa remained hospitalized through the following days. Meanwhile, investigators arrested Gonzalez on Aug. 7 and Cisneros several days later. Gonzalez’s bond was set at $1 million. Cisneros received a $500,000 bond. During Gonzalez’s early court appearance, Magistrate Judge Temple Ramming called the allegations extremely troubling and said they stood out even against other serious criminal cases he had encountered. When Cisneros later asked for a lower bond, District Judge Ana Martinez rejected the request. Conditions set in the event of Cisneros’ release included electronic monitoring, no contact with Gonzalez and restrictions on contact with minors without permission.
The medical case became a death investigation when Janessa died on the night of Aug. 12 after several days in critical condition. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez publicly confirmed her death the next day. Prosecutors and homicide investigators then began reviewing whether the death supported different or additional charges. Reporting immediately after her death said both adults still faced injury-to-a-child charges, while authorities made clear that the charging decisions could change as investigators completed their work. Later reports were not fully consistent about whether a capital murder charge against Gonzalez had formally been filed, so the most reliable public status remains that prosecutors were considering more serious charges after Janessa died.
The allegations unfolded while Janessa was away from the home she ordinarily shared with her father in Chicago. Cisneros told investigators that she had Janessa and the child’s 7-year-old sibling for the summer. Norman Martinez, Janessa’s father, traveled to Texas as his daughter’s condition deteriorated. Before she died, he described her publicly as strong and independent and said she loved singing and dancing. After her death, he said he wanted her returned to Chicago for a funeral and spoke about seeking justice through the legal process. The older sibling, who had initially entered child protective custody after the arrests, was later sent to relatives in Chicago, according to local reporting.
The distinction between action and alleged inaction remains one of the defining legal features of the case. Authorities say Gonzalez caused Janessa’s physical injuries through repeated assaults. Prosecutors say Cisneros’ criminal liability arose because she knew of abuse and did not take the steps required to protect her daughter or secure treatment. Her attorney’s account of alleged threats complicates that picture but does not resolve it. Determining what happened, what Cisneros knew and whether either defendant committed the crimes charged will be the responsibility of the courts.
Neither defendant has been convicted in connection with Janessa’s death. Homicide investigators and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office have continued reviewing the case after her death, while the child welfare investigation has examined the circumstances involving both children who were staying in the home. The central timeline now spans at least the reported July allegation, the visible injuries and alleged admission on Aug. 1, the emergency on Aug. 6 and Janessa’s death six days later.
Author note: Last updated September 22, 2026.