A Texas husband and wife are incarcerated after their adoptive child, who was kept confined in the family’s laundry room, tragically passed away, as per the authorities in the Lone Star State.

Jonathan Miranda, 34, and Christina Miranda, 32, both stand accused of capital murder, according to Bexar County court records.

The duo was apprehended on Wednesday evening at a home located on Cielo Ranch in San Antonio’s East Village neighborhood, according to a press release from the San Antonio Police Department.

Authorities say the couple’s violence and abuse took the life of their 10-year-old child, who is identified as Michael Miranda in court documents.

On the night of September 24, officers attended to a call regarding an unresponsive child at another home on the same street, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime. Unfortunately, first responders could not provide assistance, and the child was declared deceased at the crime scene.

“[T]he victim was observed to be very small for his reported age,” the affidavit read. “He appeared to be somewhat emaciated, but his stomach was distended. Abrasions were visible on his face, legs, and feet, along with bruising and trauma covering his entire back in various stages of healing. The medical examiner’s inspection revealed large open sores on the victim’s buttocks when the diaper was removed.”

The affidavit further details injuries to other parts of the victim’s body, including a possible internal neck injury, “signs of potential starvation and malnutrition,” a torn lower intestine, and a dislocated arm.

“This was intentionally done to a 10-year-old that was already weakened by at least a year of daily abuse, neglect, and physical assaults,” the affidavit goes on.

As detectives attempted to interview the couple, only the wife was initially compliant, police claim. Christina Miranda told investigators Michael “had a history of abuse, neglect and alleged sexual abuse,” and allegedly confessed to keeping him in the family’s laundry room “for the past couple of days as he was ill.”

Eventually, the female defendant is said to have ended her collaborative discussions and requested a lawyer, police say.

Left to right: Jonathan Miranda and Christina Miranda (San Antonio Police Department).

Detectives looking into the laundry room, however, believe Michael’s adoptive mother undersold her alleged admission. Police say the room “had been arranged and…occupied for much longer than the two days that were being reported,” according to the affidavit. There was also the presence of dried feces directly on the floor and on a pet pad “as if someone had been compelled to use that as a toilet.”

Authorities also noted the presence of broken drywall – which they believed to be “signs of struggle and some sort of violence.”

Witnesses who also lived at the Miranda residence told investigators Michael was abused every day with items such as a “wooden paddle” and a “rubber paddle with metal inside,” according to the affidavit. Other forms of abuse allegedly included forcing the child to stand with his arms raised in the air for extended periods of time – with additional punishment meted out if he dropped his arms.

Other children who lived in the house allegedly said their parents punished Michael by picking him “up by his feet and throwing him to the floor until he stopped moving or whining,” according to the affidavit.

The defendants are alleged to have abused the child until he urinated or defecated on himself – and then, at the same time, refusing to clean the boy up for quite awhile after such incidents, the affidavit claims.

And, investigators say, they even obtained video footage that showcased some of the abuse the little boy endured.

“The injuries to the 10-year-old child were persistent with continuous trauma of approximately a year,” the police department’s press release summarizes. “After further investigation and hard work from the Medical Examiners and Homicide Detectives, there was enough evidence to charge the two suspects.”