HOUSTON -- A Houston-area mother was accused of starving her child, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.

Marcia Holliday, 30, was charged with serious bodily injury to a child, accused of "failing to provide sufficient nutrition to child."

Investigators said Holliday called an ambulance for her son, Kayvon Lewis, 3, describing him as lethargic and not eating.

He was taken to Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, where doctors alerted social workers.

The doctors said Kayvon weighed only 17 pounds when the proper weight for a child that age is 35 pounds.

An assistant Harris County district attorney said the boy appeared to be suffering from starvation.

Kayvon was hospitalized in critical condition. Doctors said that although he has improved slightly, heart failure is a possibility.

Child Protective Services said the toddler was on medication for seizures, but that did not explain the low weight.

"Doctors did a number of medical tests to see what could have caused him to be so severely malnourished. There really is no medical reason as to why he shouldn't be eating and why he shouldn't be gaining weight," said Estella Olguin with Child Protective Services.

Holliday was living in a northwest Harris County apartment on Ella Boulevard with Kayvon, a 5-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son.

The older siblings were not enrolled in school, officials said. They have been placed in a foster home.

CPS officials said Holliday's relatives were not suitable to care for the older children because they appeared to have known about the neglect, but did not report it.

Holliday has a history with CPS. The agency said she was investigated twice last year after reports of physical neglect. Those cases were dropped for lack of evidence.

CPS said at the time that Holliday's children were all developmentally delayed, but seemed to be cared for.

"He was crawling, smiling, sitting up, and now, of course, he's not," Olguin said.

When asked why she did not take her son to a doctor sooner, CPS said Holliday told them that she did not know why.

Holliday is being held in a $20,000 bond.

If convicted, she could face up to life in prison.

Psychological tests will be performed on Holliday, officials said.