CHANDLER, Ariz. -- A Chandler pair has been indicted in connection with a child abuse case that saw a 2-year-old boy weigh in at 12 pounds, 12 ounces.

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The Maricopa County Attorney's Office said the child's father, Edmundo Munoz, 31, and stepmother, Morgan Lege, 25, face one count each of child abuse

Santiago Smoot weighed 12 pounds, 12 ounces when Lege brought him to Chandler Regional Medical Center on April 26, according to a Chandler police probable cause statement. That was well below the fifth percentile on the boy's birth-to-36-months growth chart, authorities said.

Lege said she reported finding Smoot in his bed at their home with his eyes open with a very glazed, non-focused look. He was diagnosed with respiratory failure, hypoglycemia, acute altered mental status and history of failure to thrive and develop, according to medical records.

Medical staff stabilized the child and flew him to Desert Banner Medical Center Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Police said the child's condition was due to severe malnutrition and parental neglect, not medical causes.

According to authorities, the investigation showed the child was maintaining a normal weight until he was 7 months old. Until he was 5 months old, the boy's biological mother cared for him. After that, he was in the custody of his father and stepmother, police said.

On May 3, Smoot had improved enough to be transferred to the pediatric unit of the hospital, police said. During his police interview, Dr. Glenn Diebert, a pediatrician, described Smoot's condition by saying, "The profundity of what happen to this kid, this is dramatic, this is way out there."

Smoot was discharged from the hospital on May 23 with a weight of 18 pounds 11 ounces, police said.

Since authorities took him into protective custody, the boy has continued to gain weight and keeps improving, officers said.

During their initial interviews with police, Lege and Munoz told them they had reduced Smoot's food intake because he would eat until he vomited, detectives said.

Police said there was no record of any medical staff advising the couple they should be limiting or reducing his food intake.

Investigators said Munoz also admitted to hiding Smoot's food trays in the hospital because he felt the hospital staff was feeding him too much food.

In another police interview, Munoz admitted to missing medical appointments for Smoot and not following up on medical care for him, police said. Munoz said he knew Smoot was thin but did not realize how sick the boy was was until he was in the hospital, investigators said.

The pair was arrested by Chandler police on June 18.

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