A Florida mother has been arrested after disturbing surveillance footage allegedly showed her attacking her two young sons inside a supermarket, including biting her 4-year-old boy on the ear because he wanted a toy she couldn’t afford.
Madelien Inurrieta-Martinez, 43, faces two felony child abuse charges following the November 4 incident at Fatty’s Market in Hialeah, just northwest of Miami.
According to an arrest affidavit, the mother entered the store with her two sons, ages 4 and 7, before sitting on several boxes of beverages.
What happened next was captured by the store’s security cameras and left even experienced police officers shaken.
Investigators say Inurrieta-Martinez suddenly grabbed her 7-year-old son by both ears and forcefully pulled them. She then grabbed the boy by his hair and continued pulling as he screamed.
Moments later, she allegedly turned her attention to her younger son, grabbing the 4-year-old by his ears before biting his right ear.
According to police, Inurrieta-Martinez later admitted that she became angry because the boy wanted a toy, but she did not have enough money to buy it.
The alleged abuse did not stop when the family left the supermarket.
Surveillance cameras outside the business reportedly captured the mother striking both children in the face as they walked away.
The store’s manager, Fadi Malouf, discovered the disturbing footage while reviewing security recordings and contacted authorities.
Police spokesperson Lt. Eddie Rodriguez described the video as among the most upsetting he had encountered during his career.
“That’s one of the most vicious videos that I’ve seen,” Rodriguez told WPLG.
He also described the footage as “a total betrayal of a mother’s love.”
Rodriguez said the children’s cries were particularly difficult to hear, especially as the younger boy was allegedly bitten.
“You could tell the pain that he was going through,” he said.
Malouf, who has worked in the grocery business for two decades, was equally disturbed.
“That’s not discipline,” he told CBS Miami, questioning what the children might have experienced away from public view.
Investigators eventually located Inurrieta-Martinez near East First Avenue and 13th Street in Hialeah and took her into custody.
She was charged with two felony counts of child abuse involving great bodily harm.
During a court appearance, a judge set her bond at $5,000 and ordered her to have no contact with either child while the criminal case proceeds.
Court records also indicate that an immigration hold was placed on Inurrieta-Martinez, who is identified as a Cuban national. Hialeah police emphasized that their department was not responsible for the immigration hold.
The Florida Department of Children and Families has since taken custody of both boys.
According to local reports, the children have different fathers, and one of their fathers is currently outside the United States. Authorities have raised the possibility that the brothers could be placed in separate homes.
For now, both children remain under state supervision as officials work to determine appropriate living arrangements.
Inurrieta-Martinez has pleaded not guilty, and the allegations against her have not been proven in court.
The case remains under investigation, with the supermarket’s surveillance footage expected to be an important piece of evidence.
