Sheriff: West Columbia Couple Charged in Daughter's Death

A West Columbia couple was arrested Thursday after their 13-month-old daughter died as a result of  “chronic malnutrition and dehydration,” according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

Detectives arrested Filiberto Garcia, 33, and his wife, Tracy Roach, 42, both of 4959 Edmund Highway, West Columbia, on a charge of homicide by child abuse.

Garcia found their daughter, Madison Garcia, unresponsive in her crib at about 9 p.m. on Sept. 2. Roach told deputies that she last fed Madison at about 12 p.m. and did not physically check on the child after feeding her, according to a release issued by the department Friday.

Madison was pronounced dead at Lexington Medical Center. Medical officials say she died due to cardiac arrest that was caused by chronic malnutrition and dehydration, according to the release. 

Arrest warrants allege that between July 31, 2012, and Sept. 2, 2013, Garcia and Roach caused their daughter’s death by “an extreme indifference to human life through lethal neglect,” Lexington County Sheriff James Metts said in the release.

Madison weighed slightly more than 9 pounds at the time of her death, with no medical reason for her state of chronic malnutrition and dehydration, according to the release. She weighed 6.3 pounds when she was discharged from the hospital after her birth.

Arrest warrants also allege that Madison had not received medical care since Nov 12, 2012.

The couple is being held at the Lexington County Detention Center while awaiting bond hearings.