Mother 'starved disabled toddler until he went into cardiac arrest after tying him to crib with rope'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A mother is facing child abuse charges after she starved her three-year- old son to the point that he went into cardiac arrest.

Arlena Alanz, 28, is alleged to have tied the special needs toddler to his crib with a rope to stop him from climbing out.

The severely malnourished boy weighed just 26lbs when he was finally taken to a hospital in Houston, Texas on October 2

Authorities found the boy after Alaniz called emergency services to her dilapidated apartment in a west Houston complex when the child stopped breathing, said Houston Police Department spokeswoman Jodi Silva.

Doctors said that the child was in cardiac arrest and suffering from severe 'failure to thrive'.'