ECTOR COUNTY, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) — The mother of an 8-year-old boy who died in November was indicted by a grand jury on a capital murder charge, District Attorney Dusty Gallivan confirmed Tuesday afternoon. The boy’s stepfather has also been indicted on a lesser charge. 

According to court records, Megan Lange was accused of applying pressure to her son’s throat or blocking his nose or mouth, which a coroner said prevented him from breathing and caused his death.

Lange also faced two counts of injury to a child for allegedly hitting the boy and failing to provide for his nutrition or medical needs. 

Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis said the child weighed only 35 pounds when deputies responded to the family’s home on November 5, 2022, after he was found unresponsive.

Lange told investigators her son woke up during the night after having an accident in his bed. She said after she cleaned her son, he simply stopped breathing. Though paramedics attempted to revive the boy, he died at a local hospital. 

Lange and her husband later attributed their son’s death to diabetes, but a forensic report filed following an autopsy stated the boy died by asphyxiation from manual strangulation. The report also stated the child was malnourished and showed signs of neglect. 

Initially, the child’s stepfather, Rodolfo Reyes, was also charged with murder. However, a grand jury indicted him only on a single charge of injury to a child by omission. 

Both Lange and Reyes remained in the Ector County Detention Center as of Tuesday evening. It was unclear when the couple will head to trial.