Family members reflect on deaths and abuse in unlicensed group homes – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Deanna Castro said she only recently met her half-sister Angelique “Angel” Estes after a DNA test revealed their connection.

“When I first looked at her, she looked exactly like my sister that I grew up with. So I thought, ‘Oh no, there’s no doubt that we’re related,'” Castro said.

Castro said she met her half-sister while visiting her in various residential facilities for about a year.

“She’s bedridden. It’s hard to take care of her. She can’t move and she’s not mobile, so it’s very difficult. So she just sits by her bed,” Castro said.

She said the visits increased, but eventually she couldn’t keep up with her sister’s frequent visits and she was trying to juggle her full-time job and her children and grandchildren.

“I want to say that I love her… I just can’t take care of her, and that’s one of my weaknesses,” Castro said.

She said she last spoke to Estes in July 2023.

According to a police affidavit, Arlington Police officers found Estes in December 2023 at a home on Woodbrook Street in Arlington after someone called 911 and claimed a friend had sent her a text message saying she was held in the house against her will.

Patrol officers went to the house and found 53-year-old Angelique Estes, who immediately told them, “I don’t want to be here.”

The affidavit states that patrol officers took Estes to the hospital, where officers from the police mental health unit spoke with her.

According to the documents, officers knew the Woodbrook home was an unlicensed residential facility operated by Becquer and that there had been previous incidents at that address.

The documents state that when officers made contact with Estes, “they could immediately detect an odor of urine and feces.”

She told officers she moved into the home five days ago and after two days she told staff there that she wanted to leave and they wouldn’t let her go. She said she was promised a bed but they left her on a mattress on the floor. She said her condition required her to wear a diaper and she was forced to sit in her feces because staff did not allow her to change her diaper for several days.

According to the affidavit, she also told police that staff gave her a “mint-flavored liquid medication” that was not prescribed to her, but she did not know what it was. Estes said they gave her the medication “when she was upset that they wouldn’t let her leave.”

Estes said they put her in a room with another patient and kicked her. Estes also told police that on more than one occasion, people from the building stood over her and poured cups of water on her, making it difficult for her to breathe. In a desperate attempt to escape, Estes told cops she slit her wrists in the hopes that someone would call 911 and take her to the hospital. Detectives said there had been no previous emergency calls to the apartment, meaning no one called 911 because Estes was trying to slit her wrists. Cops noted the abrasions on Estes’ wrists in their report.

“It’s sad, it’s sad, even if it’s not a family member. It’s sad that someone can be treated like that,” Castro said.

Castro said she never visited her sister at any of Becquer’s facilities, but heard about it on the news.

According to Arlington police, Becquer will face charges of abandonment and endangerment in connection with Estes’ case.

They also said Estes was still alive, but Castro did not know where her sister was now.

“I want to tell her that I love her and that I think about her all the time and … hopefully one day I can get back in touch with her or she can get back in touch with me and maybe things will be better,” she said.

The affidavit, obtained by NBC 5, describes the experiences of other clients who were able to leave Becquer’s facilities, as well as clients who died. More information can be found here.