Woman keeps 11-year-old sedated for THREE YEARS

'I carry a photo of him in my wallet.'

Three years ago Yonatan Daniel Aguilar disappeared. When asked bout her son, Veronica Aguilar lied and told people he was living in Mexico.

The truth of her son's whereabouts were far more sinister.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) -For three years 11-year-old Yonatan was kept drugged and locked away in a bedroom closet.

According to the LA Times, Veronica told her husband Yonatan passed away.

Like many others who asked about his whereabouts, he believed the boy was in Mexico.

The truth was worse than anything he could have ever imagined.

Records revealed Veronica had been under investigation for abuse and her son was watched by school officials, police, social workers and therapists, all of whom lost track of him.

Authorities discovered Yonatan was kept sedated with liquid sleep medication in the closet, where he was kept secret from everyone, including Veronica's husband, Jose Pinzon.

The only ones who were aware of the boy's presence were the other children, who were forbidden from speaking about him to anyone.

Yonatan passed away in August. That same day, Moses Castillo, the LAPD supervising detective, placed Pinzon and Yonatan's siblings together in a room "to see the reaction," the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) records revealed.

Detectives and county social workers watched Pinzon "immediately [confront] the children that he had no idea that minor [Yonatan] was living in the house the whole time they were there."

He asked, "How can you do this to me?"

One of the children replied, "You were always at work, so you didn't know."

The record revealed Pinzon began to cry. "I carry a photo of him in my wallet," he said. "I'm the only one that cared for him."

When Yonatan passed away, Veronica told her husband the news then shocked him when she led him to the bedroom closet.

Authorities reported Yonatan's body was wrapped in a blanket and covered in pressure sores from lying on the tile floor.

The boy was going bald and had foam in his nose. Medicinal cups of pink and red liquids were near his body.

Yonatan was discovered beaten, malnourished, weighing only 34-pounds and covered in sores.

Veronica told Jose, "I took care of the problem by ruining my life."

Disgusted, Jose ran to a nearby 7-ELEVEN to call 911.

Veronica was arrested and is facing murder charges but has pleaded not guilty.

Yonatan's family had received six reports of abuse or neglect and had been marked as "high" four times between 2009 and 2012 by a computer program created to gauge social workers' level of intervention.

The records show social workers declined to open a case as the allegations of physical abuse were "inconclusive or unfounded."

DCFS Director Philip Browning explained everyone who investigated the reports believed "the child was in a safe environment."

Browning added: "We talked to the school nurse, the school doctors, school counselors, the teachers, everyone, including the LAPD investigators, who all said everything was OK.

"We were very surprised what occurred here. Our social workers were very distraught....There is no way to predict this occurring."

Unfortunately, once all the cases are investigated and closed without the determination of an ongoing issue, "We don't have the legal authority to follow up," Browning explained.

Veronica kept her family hidden from officials by moving often. There were no more reports about Yonatan, leaving the DCFS' hands tied.

Shockingly, the family eventually lived in a single-bedroom apartment, with Jose and Veronica sleeping in the living room, two children in a shared bed, one child in a shed in the backyard and Yonatan, who was reportedly autistic, who remained in the closet.

Yonatan's oldest brother, who is 18-years-old, told authorities: "My mom does not talk about him because he is a troublemaker," adding his younger brother often acted out at schools.

"You guys know about it," he added. "He has done so many crazy things."

Later, Yonatan's brother changed his story, saying Yonatan "was very smart" and "knew what he was doing."

Several stories of Yonatan's tortured life surfaced, with everything from signs of physical abuse to hoarding food during his time in school, coming up.

Yonatan's mother is currently being held at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood on a $2 million bail.

If she is convicted as charged, she could face a maximum sentence of 15-years-to-life in state prison.

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