‘She has no hope of going home,’ says Texas grandma of 15-year-old detained in murder case

A 15-year-old girl facing three charges related to her boyfriend’s death and who doctors recommended needed partial hospitalization as she remained in custody has been ordered by a judge to stay in the Lynn W. Ross Juvenile Detention Center in Fort Worth, according to her family.

The girl, who is set for trial in November on charges of delinquent conduct/murder, delinquent conduct/burglary of a habitation, and delinquent conduct/home invasion, had spent eight days at the Perimeter Behavioral Hospital in Arlington after she attempted suicide twice and was assaulted by another juvenile, leaving her unconscious., her grandmother said.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is not identifying the teen because she is a minor. Family members said she was charged with murder after her boyfriend was shot to death in October at a Saginaw home. She did not fire the weapon that killed Adxel Melgar Caceres, 20, of Fort Worth, but she rode with him to the scene, family members said.

Her family said Judge Alex Kim ordered her to the psychiatric facility in late July, noting that if she did well and cooperated with treatment, she would be released to her mother while awaiting her trial.

The teen’s grandmother said her granddaughter had no behavioral issues and received promising treatment.

“The child finally had hope, was doing well and for the first time in nine months, smiled,” the grandmother said in a telephone interview with the Star-Telegram.

But Kim decided to detain her, wanting to see how her medication was working, family members said. Another detention hearing is scheduled for next week.

“Our family was shocked and devastated,” the grandmother said.

She said the system has failed.

“The judge is making a ruling to continue detaining her knowing she has emotional and mental health issues,” the teen’s grandfather said.

Kim could not immediately be reached for comment.

The judge issued the order to keep the teen at the Tarrant County Juvenile Detention Center on Aug. 3 with her next hearing expected to be held Monday or Tuesday of next week.

Her grandmother said the girl was 14 in the fall of 2021, and she didn’t previously have any criminal problems.

That changed in October 2021.

Her granddaughter was 14 when she met two young men from Saginaw who were brothers, and had sex with them, which was videotaped, she said.

The teen had been dating Adxel Melgar Caceres, who heard what the Saginaw boys did and became upset, her grandmother said.

“He went over to that home with the intent of fighting them,” the grandmother said.

On Oct. 26, 2021, her granddaughter, Melgar Caceres, and a 15-year-old friend of his drove to Saginaw to confront the brothers, she said.

The grandmother said the girl stayed in the pickup truck as Melgar Caceres and his 15-year-old friend went to the house in the 600 block of Oak Hollow Lane in Saginaw.

Within minutes, someone opened fire in the home and the girl and Melgar Caceres’ 15-year-old friend ran away from the scene.

Saginaw police said they responded to the 600 block of Oak Hollow Lane on a report of a home burglary.

A man who lives at the residence told 911 dispatchers that someone had forced his way inside, and that he shot the intruder, according to police.

Upon arriving at the home, police said, they found Melgar Caceres dead from multiple gunshot wounds. His body was lying inside the entry way of the home.

Saginaw police said that others involved fled the area and that they believed the incident was “isolated and targeted.”

But Saginaw police later said they believed that the case was not a burglary and arrested the two brothers who lived in the home on Oak Hollow Lane.

Saginaw police identified the brothers as Daniel Higuita Baquero, 20, and Jony Higuita Baquero, 17, who were charged in December 2021 with murder in Melgar Caceres’ death, as well as with delivery of drugs.

The two also were charged with sexual assault of a child on Oct. 24, 2021, accused in the sex acts performed on the teenage girl, according to police and court records.

Saginaw police also noted that the girl was arrested in connection with the Oct. 26 fatal shooting.

“She stayed in the pickup, and she never got out until the shooting started,” her grandmother said. “She was told that after the shooting she should have called 911, but she was 14 years old.”

In a February detention hearing, Kim ordered the girl detained because he said she’s accused of “setting up” the situation that got Melgar Caceres killed.

Kim issued the order, telling the girl, “You set something up,” according to video of the hearing.

“I’m very concerned that you are the one facilitating everything, and it ends up with a dead person,” Kim said at the February hearing.

“This is the gravest concern for me,” Kim addressed the girl’s mother before issuing his order. “The fact she and her ex-boyfriend or someone who wanted to be her romantic interest ... But for your daughter, this young man would be alive today.”

Kim called the girl the “linchpin” that held everything together.

“I’m not comfortable releasing her,” the judge said, and ordered the girl to remain with Tarrant County juvenile authorities.

Her grandfather said the girl is suffering from a mental disorder.

“The best resolution is for her is to be possibly confined to a mental health facility and released eventually back to her family,” the grandfather said.

His granddaughter has been in the custody at the Tarrant County juvenile facility since November.

“I do not understand why this judge feels he can monitor her behavior while on new medication. His staff is not qualified as mental health technicians,” her grandmother said. “She has no hope of ever going home.”