A woman from Colorado, Kelly Renee Turner, who had claimed that her 7-year-old daughter died from a terminal illness two years ago, has now been accused of murder.
Turner, also known as Kelly Renee Gant, was arrested in Glendale, Colorado, on Friday following a grand jury indictment that included charges of first-degree murder, child abuse, and charitable fraud. The indictment reveals that Turner is facing a total of 13 counts, including multiple felony and misdemeanour charges.
Kelly Renee Turner, aged 41, was taken into custody at the Douglas County Detention Facility in Castle Rock, Colorado. She made her initial court appearance on Monday and is currently being held without bond until her next scheduled court date on November 1. Turner's public defender declined to comment on the case at this time.
The investigation into Olivia Gant's death began after doctors at Children's Hospital Colorado and the Jefferson County Department of Human Services became suspicious of Turner's claims. They discovered that Turner had falsely stated that her other daughter, while they lived in Texas, had received treatment for childhood cancer. Further inquiries revealed that the child had never been diagnosed or treated for any form of cancer. These revelations raised concerns about Olivia's death and care, leading to a year-long investigation by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff Tony Spurlock expressed his appreciation for the dedication and professionalism shown by all agencies involved in the investigation. He commended his detectives for their thoroughness and determination, acknowledging the emotional complexity of the case.
A redacted report from the Department of Human Services, cited in the indictment, raised concerns about Turner's alleged fabrications regarding her children's medical conditions. It suggested that she may have caused harm to her children and subjected them to unnecessary medical procedures, possibly for personal gain. The report also mentioned Turner's potential financial and social motivations related to her children's real and fictitious medical conditions.
The events leading up to Olivia Gant's death began when Turner brought her daughter to Children's Hospital in 2013 due to concerns about developmental delays. Following a diagnosis of autism, Olivia started experiencing severe constipation, which progressively worsened. Turner reported that her daughter suffered from intense pain while eating, leading to the implementation of a feeding tube and intravenous nutrition (TPN).
Doctors informed Turner that Olivia would not be able to sustain herself solely on IV nutrition, giving her the choice to bring Olivia home on hospice care. Olivia passed away at Denver Hospice a few weeks later. To cover medical expenses that were allegedly not covered by insurance or Medicaid, Turner established a GoFundMe campaign that raised $22,270 from 161 donors over two years.
Contrary to Turner's claims, multiple doctors who treated Olivia stated that she was not terminally ill. One pediatric surgeon referred to Turner as a "high-maintenance mother" who readily consented to surgeries. A neurologist who examined Olivia for reported seizures advised Turner multiple times to discontinue giving her anti-epileptic drugs, as there was no evidence of seizures. Another doctor noted that Olivia did not consistently exhibit the symptoms described by Turner.
Further evidence against Turner includes a conversation with an anesthesiologist, during which she insisted on discontinuing her daughter's medical care due to alleged pain. Although the clinic's ethics team expressed reservations, they ultimately allowed Turner to withdraw from the TPN line. However, a subsequent autopsy conducted on Olivia's exhumed remains revealed no anatomical findings consistent with her reported cause of death or the conditions Turner claimed she suffered from.
During a discussion with a detective, Turner admitted fabricating her other daughter's cancer diagnosis but maintained that Olivia's medical conditions were genuine. She claimed that doctors had acknowledged Olivia's low nutritional intake and authorized the hospice admission. Turner also mentioned Munchausen by proxy syndrome, denying any association with it. A separation test administered to Turner's other daughter indicated no additional health problems in her absence.
Source: Link
felixwrite is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
