Balch Springs police investigate report of resurrection ceremony for dead toddler

Local, state and federal agencies are investigating a report that a Balch Springs mother performed a resurrection ceremony on her dead 2-year-old before taking the child to Mexico for burial, according to a search warrant affidavit released Thursday.

Police received an anonymous call on March 26 that a 2-year-old child had died March 22 in the 12000 block of Duke Drive, and instead of contacting police or emergency services, the family and their church members took the child to Mexico, according to the Balch Springs affidavit.

The caller told police the home also serves as a church where “a large number of young children” live, the warrant states.

Detectives had not located the parents as of Thursday, police said.

Detective M. Morgan spoke with two people who live at the house who said the toddler was alive March 21 and was dead the next day, according to the affidavit.

One of the witnesses said a “rising ceremony” was done that Sunday in an “attempt to resurrect [the] victim from the dead,” according to the affidavit.

Then, police were told, the toddler was wrapped in a blanket and taken “back to Mexico.”

Police seized bedding, female clothing, computer hardware and software, thumb drives, documents and a carrying case with a camcorder, according to the affidavit.

Police have not confirmed that a child died. — Monica S. Nagy

This story was originally published April 2, 2015 at 10:49 PM with the headline "Balch Springs police investigate report of resurrection ceremony for dead toddler."