800-pound woman makes first court appearance via teleconference

EDINBURG - An 800-pound woman accused of murder made her first appearance in court today after months of discussion on how to bring her to trial.

Mayra Rosales, 27, appeared via video teleconference because her weight has left her physically unable to leave her home.
Rosales stands accused in the beating death of her 2-year-old nephew - Eliseo Gonzalez Jr. - earlier this year.

Court staff projected Rosales' image on a wall during Thursday's hearing, while she talked with state District Judge Ricardo Rodriguez Jr. from her bed in Sullivan City. A blue curtain obscured the woman's body up to her chin.

She spoke little during the hearing and responded to the judge's questions mostly in one-word answers

"For now, this is how we're going to conduct the hearings," Rodriguez said, referring to the video projection system. "I'm not sure yet how we're going to conduct a trial."

State law requires that all district court defendants be tried in the county seat - in this case Edinburg. But court hearings could be moved to a more spacious building within city limits if necessary.

Rosales' attorney - Sergio Valdez - declined interview requests after the hearing, citing deference to the young victim in the case.

"Instead of talking about the case or what happened in court today, I think we all need to take some time to reflect on the death of this young child," he said.

He also refused to answer questions on his client's cooperation with a documentary film crew that had expressed an interest in telling her story. However, he spent much of his time outside of the courtroom chatting with the crew's photographer.

In September, Valdez confirmed that Austin-based production company Megalomedia Inc. had approached his client and offered her medical assistance in exchange for her cooperation with the film.

The company has produced several documentaries on morbidly obese subjects who undergo bariatric surgery during filming.

It remains unclear whether Valdez or Rosales has signed a contract for the potential documentary.

Prosecutors allege Rosales struck her nephew multiple times, inflicting the multiple skull fractures and bruises that eventually caused his death.

She has denied intentionally hurting the child and suggested his injuries were inflicted before the child came to her house on March 18.

Rosales currently faces charges of capital murder and injury to a child and could face up to life in prison if convicted.

Her sister - Jamie Rosales, 20 - has been indicted on one count of injury to a child for allegedly leaving Eliseo with Mayra Rosales even though she knew the woman's weight made her incapable of caring for him.

Both women have entered not guilty pleas and are expected to go to trial next year.