Colorado mother murders 7-year-old daughter after falsely claiming she's terminally ill and raising over $20,000 to 'fulfill her wishes'
COLORADO: A Colorado mother who had looked for and sought out donations to cover medical treatment for her daughter has been charged with murder in the7-year-old Olivia Grant's death.
The woman raised funds to fulfill the girl's "bucket list" before she died from what had previously been believed to be a terminal disease. However, a grand jury indictment said on October 21 that the 41-year-old Kelly Renee Turner, who is also known as Kelly Grant, was charged with 13 criminal counts which included child abuse, theft, and charitable fraud in her daughter's death.
According to the indictment, Turner had caused Olivia's death in 2017 and the child had not died due to the other multiple illnesses that Kelly claimed Olivia had. The 'Make-A-Wish' foundation which grants wishes to terminally ill children had also paid around $11,000 for a "bat princess" costume party for her.
CBS reported that Kelly had also set up a GoFundMe page for her daughter in 2015 and had managed to raise more than $22,000. Kelly had written on the page, "We are hoping for support both financially, spiritually, and emotionally. Not only will this be a taxing time for Kelly (mom), and Olivia but for Olivia’s sisters and the friends and family who are willing to step in and help during this time."
Turner was arrested on October 18 while at a Denver-area hotel and is being held without bond at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. The actual cause of the child's death is not known and was initially thought to be an intestinal failure, as reported by KUSA-TV. Olivia's body was exhumed in 2018 and an autopsy did not find any physical evidence for the illnesses that Kelly claimed Olivia had.
Turner has also been accused of stealing half-a-million dollars from Medicaid and other agencies.