Police: Woman served child spaghetti with ants

A Modesto woman was arrested on suspicion of child abuse and elder abuse on Monday.

A 66-year-old woman called 911 to report the suspect held her down, slapped her and hadn’t bathed or fed her for days, according to Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Heather Graves.

The suspect, 44-year-old Michelle Buenrostro, is the primary caretaker for the victim, but Graves would not say how the two are related. When officers arrived at the home in southeast Modesto, they learned a 9-year-old girl also lived there whom the 66-year-old woman sent to stay with other people before she called police.

An officer interviewed the girl, who said Buenrostro made her eat spaghetti that had been sitting on the counter for three days and was covered in ants.

“The suspect told her to pick the ants out and eat it,” Graves said.

The 9-year-old said she got a stomachache.

Officers reported the home was filthy and that the child’s room was piled with clothes and other items, making it unsafe for her to sleep in, Graves said.

Adult Protective Services and Child Protective Services were called. Child Protective Services allowed the child to stay at the home she went to before officers arrived.

This story was originally published August 30, 2016 at 7:38 PM with the headline "Police: Woman served child spaghetti with ants."