Court docs reveal new details on deadly Tempe child abuse case | Crime Files
TEMPE, Ariz. - We have obtained court documents related to a case of child abuse in the East Valley that left a girl dead.
According to Tempe Police, they have arrested two people in connection with the death, and the suspects are related to the victim.
Here's what we know.
Who are the suspects?
Virginia Lujan
According to our initial report on the alleged crime, Tempe Police identified the two women they arrested as the victim's mother, 33-year-old Jami Hodges, and the victim's grandmother, 55-year-old Virginia Lujan.
It should be noted that the court documents we obtained were for Lujan. However, Hodges was mentioned in Lujan's court documents.
What allegedly happened?
Per the court documents for Lujan, the alleged crime began to unfold on Jan. 21, 2025 at a home near Mill Avenue and Carter Drive.
Big picture view:
The victim, according to investigators, was one of Hodges' five children. The children range in age from two to 15 years old.
While Lujan's court documents identified the victim by name, her name was redacted from the copies that we obtained.
Police said the 13-year-old was diagnosed with a form of childhood epilepsy at a young age. They also said she had the mental capacity of a three-year-old, as well as limited verbal abilities.
Dig deeper:
Investigators also noted that in 2021, Hodges transferred four of her five children's guardianship to Lujan. Hodges told police that she recently moved in with Lujan because structural issues forced her out of her former home. Lujan's home was described by investigators as a two-story townhome with three bedrooms.
"Hodges and her two-year-old daughter slept in the living room on the main floor. Lujan had her own bedroom on the second floor, and the rest of the children shared the remaining two bedrooms," investigators wrote, while also noting that none of Hodges' children were enrolled in or attending school.
Police described Lujan's home as ‘disorderly and filthy,’ with trash littering the home's floors, and dead insects such as cockroaches being seen in various parts of the home.
As for where the victim was kept, police called it a ‘makeshift cage’ in our initial report. Court documents contained details on the makeshift case, as seen by officers when they served a search warrant at the home.
What they're saying:
"Police discovered an elevated bed frame, similar to bunk beds inside, with the exception that there was no bed or mattress on the bottom. Instead, the tall bed frame created a space underneath the top bunk," a portion of the court documents read. "A large rail, large enough to enclose the long right side of the bed and another rail with plastic baby gates attached to it were found by this bed. These items, together, were attached to the frame as walls for an enclosure
Or ‘cage,’ as described by Hodges. These components were zipped tied together with multiple, multi-colored plastic zip ties."
Police also noted that there was human waste on the floor within the enclosure.
Timeline:
Hodges, according to police, said that when she returned home from the dentist earlier on Jan. 21, she noticed that the victim was "acting off."
"Hodges describes [the victim's eyes] as ‘droopy,’ and she was acting weird," investigators wrote.
Investigators said Hodges also saw a "large rash or discoloration" under the victim's armpits and on the back of her legs. When she confronted Lujan about what happened, Lujan said "the victim must have rolled off the bed or out of her crib last night."
"Hodges told Lujan to call for medical assistance, but Lujan was worried she would get in trouble because of the way [the victim] looked," a portion of the court documents read.
According to police, Hodges and her 15-year-old son left the home at around 5:45 p.m., and went to a gym and a grocery store. At around 8:30 p.m., Hodges' son got a call from Lujan, where Lujan told her grandson that they needed to come home, and hung up.
"Hodges called Lujan to find out what was happening. Lujan told Hodges that she tried to feed [the victim], and now the victim was ‘gargling’ or ‘gasping,’" investigators wrote.
Police said when Hodges got home, Lujan was close to calling 911. Lujan was found ‘laying over [the victim] on the mattress in Lujan’s room.'
"Lujan told her 15-year-old grandson to take the victim downstairs," read a portion of the court documents. "Lujan went downstairs and hugged each of the other children and told them, ‘I wouldn’t hurt you.'"
Per investigators, Tempe Police officers and crews with Tempe Fire Medical Rescue were called to the home at around 9:00 p.m.
"Lujan told first responders that [the victim] had fallen a few days prior," investigators wrote. "[The victim] was found in the living room floor."
Investigators also said a police sergeant at the scene saw the victim covered in bruises on various parts of her body. The bruises were described as being in various stages of healing.
The victim, per investigators, was taken to the hospital, and was declared dead just before 3:00 a.m. on Jan. 22.
After the victim's death, police said they found dried blood inside her right ear, and noted that her face appeared swollen.
What Investigators Have Found:
Lujan, according to police, was interviewed at the hospital, and she said the victim fell in the middle of the night on Jan. 19.
"Lujan noticed [the victim] hit her head on the wall and damaged the drywall after falling down the stairs from the second floor to the landing," investigators wrote.
Per investigators, Lujan said the victim was fine all day on Jan. 20, but started to act differently on Jan. 21.
"Lujan described [the victim's] symptoms as drowsy and slow," read a portion of the court documents. "[The victim's] condition worsened to not breathing when she called 911."
Investigators also said that Lujan started noticing the bruises on the victim's body on Jan. 20, and noticed blood in her ear on Jan. 21. However, Lujan allegedly did not seek medical attention earlier because she thought the victim would be alright.
"Once Lujan decided to call 911, she commented that she wanted to clean [the victim] up, so she did not look so bad," read a portion of the court documents.
What is Lujan being accused of?
Detectives said Lujan is accused of a count of Child Abuse, as defined in A.R.S. 13-3623A1.
"Hodges was booked and released pending further investigation for one count of A.R.S. 13-3623A1," read a portion of the court documents.
What's next:
A judge has set a $500,000 bond for Lujan. Should she make bond, she will be subjected to a number of restrictions, including not being allowed to be alone with any person under the age of 18.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 31.