Family says they tried to get abuse victim out of home

By T.J. Wilham

Click here for updates on this story

    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — Photos are all Anastacio Melero has left of his sister.

“That was the last time that we got to spend time with her in person,” he said while showing a photo taken from his mother’s funeral. “There are a lot of people who loved Mary. A ton of people.”

But the photos contained in court records are hard for him to talk about. It shows massive infections, holes in limbs, rashes, and bed sore all over his sister’s body.

“My first thought is that the devil does exist because who in the world could do something that they did,” Melero asked. “Here is just no, there’s no reasons at all why they did what they did to my sister.”

Mary Melero, who was autistic, was being cared for in a Rio Rancho home for three years. Police say her caretaker, Angelita Chacon, had put her in a van and drove her to the border in an attempt to get medical treatment in Juarez.

“They knew if they took her to a local hospital, they would be reported, and they would lose their contract, and they would lose their money,” Attorney General Raul Torrez said.

But when Chacon got to the border, they were stopped by Mexican authorities and turned away. Border Protection agents then found Melero lying down on the floor in the back of a van.

She was taken to an El Paso Hospital, where she died from a massive infection.

As a result of her death, the state ordered 6,800 inspections of people who take part in the Developmentally Disabled Waiver Program. The program uses federal funds to pay people to take care of people with developmental disabilities inside homes rather than institutions.

Chacon made about $250,000 over three years from the program.

The inspections found 30 cases of confirmed abuse, and they have referred eight cases over to the Attorney General’s Office for possible prosecution.

The state uses third-party contractors to run the program. But Target 7 discovered the state was never doing regular home visits.

Department of Health cabinet secretary Patrick Allen told Target 7 he is going to make sure regular visits will now occur.

“What we need to do as a result of what’s come to light is do a better job as an agency in overseeing that work,” Allen said.

But the Melero family knew something was wrong for a while. They said Chacon would not let them visit or talk to their sister over the phone.

They said they contacted the state to try to get Mary out of the house.

“They said that they would not give Mary to me or to a family member and that she was her own person and that she could go wherever she wanted,” Anastacio Melero said. “And so, I feel that they made a huge mistake in allowing Mary to stay with (Chacon).”

Mary Melero herself also reached out to Albuquerque attorney Adam Oakey over Facebook prior to her death.

“I said, ‘what’s going on? How can I help you? You need help’,” Oakey said, “She didn’t respond. So, I know that something was going on. I know that they were hiding something. There’s no other reason why she (would reach out) I didn’t know Mary, right. I didn’t know her personally.”

Oakey is now representing the Melero family, and he is considering filing a class action lawsuit against the state and the contractors they used.

“We need to make sure that we get justice for Mary and her family and to make sure that the system changes,” Oakey said.

Chacon has been charged with neglect of a resident causing death. The attorney general asked a judge to hold her until trial. Instead, the judge released her and ordered she be placed on an ankle monitor.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.