A 12-year-old US girl died mysteriously from “life-threatening” injuries when her parents tried to treat her with some smoothies instead of providing her with proper medical attention.

The heartbreaking incident occurred in Texas, where teenager Miranda Sipps died in a hospital on Monday (August 12), officials said.

Miranda was found dead when her parents called emergency services because she was no longer breathing. This happened four days after Miranda sustained the injuries. This may sound like a common death from illness or injury, but it is not. After making the call, Miranda’s mother strangely left the house with the girl in a car, as she did not want police officers in the house.

While pursuing the mother, her car was stopped by police near a highway and Miranda was found unconscious but alive in the car. She was immediately taken to the hospital but was pronounced dead soon after.

The investigation revealed that the mother, Denise Balbaneda (36), and Miranda’s stepfather Gerald Gonzalez (40) did not seek medical help for the girl during the four days in which the girl was “mentally and physically incapacitated and unresponsive”.

Even after struggling with serious injuries for four days, the couple kept their daughter at home and reportedly fed her smoothies and vitamins even though she was unresponsive. They even tried to give her oxygen to revive her, officials claimed.

“Basically, they thought they could nurse her back to health, and we don’t think they wanted the attention it would bring if the little girl was injured,” Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward told local media.

The parents told authorities that during the four days their daughter was only able to “blink her eyes and move her hands a little.”

It is still unclear how she sustained these serious injuries. An autopsy is currently being performed to determine the nature of her injuries.

Meanwhile, Miranda’s mother and stepfather were arrested and charged with aggravated assault on a child.