{"id":4353,"date":"2025-10-03T23:39:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T23:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/arizona-girls-death-ruled-homicide-after-being-kept-in-cage-at-grandmothers-home-report\/"},"modified":"2025-10-03T23:39:02","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T23:39:02","slug":"arizona-girls-death-ruled-homicide-after-being-kept-in-cage-at-grandmothers-home-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/arizona-girls-death-ruled-homicide-after-being-kept-in-cage-at-grandmothers-home-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona girl\u2019s death ruled homicide after being kept in cage at grandmother\u2019s home: report"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The death of a 13-year-old girl with epilepsy has reportedly been ruled a homicide<\/a>, after authorities said she had been kept in a “makeshift cage” inside her grandmother’s Arizona home.<\/p>\n

Melony Granados \u2014 who suffered from a rare form of epilepsy and cognitive impairments that left her functioning at the level of a 3-year-old \u2014 had been in the care of her grandmother, Virginia Lujan. Lujan, 55, was charged in February with child abuse and related offenses in connection with the teen\u2019s death, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

The Maricopa County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office recently confirmed Granados’ death was ruled a homicide, ABC15 reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MYSTERY OF BABIES ABANDONED AT PARK IN 1989 SOLVED AFTER MOTHER ID’D AS WOMAN FOUND MURDERED IN DESERT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Virginia Lujan, 55, was charged in February with child abuse and related offenses in connection with the teen\u2019s death.<\/span> (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Tempe Police Department had been awaiting the medical examiner\u2019s report before considering additional charges. However, Lujan died last month of natural causes while in custody<\/a> at the Maricopa County Jail, ABC15 reported, citing a spokesperson for the Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

911 CALLS, POLICE REPORT DETAILS DARK TIMELINE TO ARIZONA GIRL’S TRAGIC DEATH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

On Jan. 20, Lujan called 911 to report Granados was unresponsive inside their Tempe townhouse. Officers found the girl on the living room floor with extensive bruising. Lujan told investigators her granddaughter had fallen down the stairs, according to ABC15.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Granados died at a hospital the following day.<\/p>\n

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Investigators said the home was “filthy,” with trash, insects and unsanitary conditions.\u00a0<\/span> (Fox 10 Phoenix)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Investigators said their home was “filthy,” with trash, insects and<\/a> unsanitary conditions. They discovered a bunk bed that had been converted into a makeshift cage, with baby gates and rails zip-tied to the frame and human waste inside the enclosure, prosecutors said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

9-YEAR-OLD CANADIAN GIRL WHOSE FATHER WAS CHARGED WITH HER MURDER WAS DROWNED, AUTHORITIES SAY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“While investigating, officers discovered a bunk bed that had been adapted into a makeshift enclosure where the victim was kept for extended periods of time, along with grossly unsanitary conditions throughout the home,” the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said at the time.<\/p>\n

Granados, who had epilepsy<\/a> and severe cognitive impairments, was one of five children belonging to Lujan\u2019s daughter, Jami Hodges. Hodges had previously transferred custody of four of her children to Lujan.<\/p>\n

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FILE PHOTO: Police units respond to the scene of an emergency.<\/span> (Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In February, Lujan was indicted on charges including child abuse<\/a>, evidence tampering, and contributing to the dependency of a child, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and Tempe Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. A spokesperson for the Maricopa County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Sophia Compton is a Writer at Fox News Digital. Sophia was previously a business reporter covering finance, energy and tourism and has experience as a TV news producer. She graduated with a journalism degree in 2021 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The death of a 13-year-old girl with epilepsy has reportedly been ruled a homicide, after authorities said she had been kept in a “makeshift cage” inside her grandmother’s Arizona home. Melony Granados \u2014 who suffered from a rare form of epilepsy and cognitive impairments that left her…<\/p>\n

Read More “Arizona girl\u2019s death ruled homicide after being kept in cage at grandmother\u2019s home: report”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/virginia-lujan-and-home.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\nArizona girl\u2019s death ruled homicide after being kept in cage at grandmother\u2019s home: report - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/arizona-girls-death-ruled-homicide-after-being-kept-in-cage-at-grandmothers-home-report\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Arizona girl\u2019s death ruled homicide after being kept in cage at grandmother\u2019s home: report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! 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