Indiana – In a deeply disturbing case from Indiana, a 3-year-old girl is recovering in critical condition after enduring prolonged abuse at the hands of her 24-year-old father, identified as J. Cajigas, and his 22-year-old girlfriend, identified as M. Jackson—despite repeated warnings from the child’s biological mother to authorities. The suspects, Cajigas and Jackson, have been arrested and charged following the girl’s hospitalization on August 7. Cajigas now faces multiple felony charges: neglect of a dependent resulting in catastrophic injury, domestic battery causing serious bodily injury, and battery causing serious bodily injury. Jackson has been charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury. Prosecutors have scheduled a jury trial for both defendants on October 14.
The call that brought police to the home came in just before 6 p.m. on August 7 as a vague and incomplete 911 call. Dispatchers eventually reached the caller, who claimed a child had fallen and was now unresponsive. When police department officers arrived, they encountered a scene that shook even seasoned responders. The child was “stiff, unresponsive, and emaciated,” according to investigators. Her small body was soaked and covered in visible marks. Cajigas allegedly described his daughter as being “limp, like a rag doll.” She was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where doctors discovered she had suffered a brain bleed and had a high likelihood of death.
As medics worked to save the girl’s life, child abuse detectives from the police department took over the investigation. Members of the department’s homicide unit and the Indiana Department of Child Services also responded to the scene. The Department of Child Services had previously been alerted to concerns about Cajigas’ parenting—concerns that, tragically, went unheeded. The girl’s biological mother, identified as L. Burnette, lost custody in May 2025 but said she repeatedly warned authorities that her daughter was being abused under the couple’s care. Speaking to local reporters, Burnette said, “I tried to tell them this is what I saw and what I’m noticing, and they kept ignoring me. They could have protected her, and they didn’t. … Instead, they tormented her.”…