Mom bites 5-year-old daughter who couldn’t find her shoes, Texas police say

A mother in Texas was arrested on Monday after police say she bit her 5-year-old daughter who couldn’t find her shoes.

Officials began investigating Monique Montellano, 32, earlier this month after Las Cruces day care workers noticed bruising on her 3-year-old son’s neck, Las Cruces Sun News reported.

When workers asked the boy what had happened, he told them his mom hurt him while he was watching television, court documents say, according to the news outlet. When asked to explain, he brought his hands to his neck and made “choking sounds.”

Investigators soon learned that Montellano’s daughter, 5, also showed signs of abuse — a bite mark on her upper right thigh, KRWG reported. She told officials that her mother had bitten her because she couldn’t find her shoes, according to the news outlet.

During the investigation, Montellano agreed to a voluntary drug test. She and her son tested positive for marijuana, KRWG reported.

Montellano was arrested on Monday and charged with three counts of felony child abuse, but it wasn’t her first offense, according to KTSM.

In September 2016, she spent 206 days in jail following a child abuse conviction. Montellano had crashed her truck and fled the scene, court documents say. When police found her, authorities say Montellano’s then 16-month-old daughter was in an unsecured car seat and Montellano had a blood alcohol level of .17, KTSM reported.

She’s being held at Dona Ana County Detention Center without bond, according to KRWG.