Murder of Olivia Gant: Mom who killed daughter, 7, by faking her illness takes PLEA DEAL!
A Colorado woman, Kelly Turner, aka Kelly Gant has been charged with murder after she pretended her daughter, Olivia Gant to be terminally ill for years to enjoy gifts and donations from Make-a-Wish foundation and perks from other trusts. Turner, who was charged in connection with the 2017 murder of her daughter, Olivia entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors on Monday, December 3, weeks before she was scheduled to stand trial.
As per the district attorney's office of the 18th Judicial District, Turner pleaded guilty to felony theft, felony charity fraud, and child abuse negligently causing death. Turner, 43, was arrested in 2019 and charged with the murder of her daughter for unnecessary and life-threatening procedures to Olivia, to cover up her lies. At that time the mother had pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
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Olivia Gant, aka “Batgirl” died in August 2017 of intestinal failure after Turner signed a do-not-resuscitate order, telling doctors that her daughter had succumbed to health issues that she suffered throughout her life. Local media outlets covered the final months of Olivia extensively as they believed it to be a heart-touching tale of a terminally ill girl's final "bucket list".
As part of the plea agreement, "Turner would serve a 16-year prison sentence on the child abuse charge, 10-year sentence on one of the theft charges, and a three-year sentence on another theft charge." District Court Judge Patricia Herron called the agreement "difficult to stomach". "That does not mean I will not impose it. For any number of reasons, I understand how we end up here. But it's difficult when we have the death of a young child", she said. "It is unthinkable, and from this court's perspective, generally would be met with the harshest of sentences."
The authorities began their investigation in 2018 after Turner took Olivia's older sister to Colorado hospital and told them that her daughter had earlier been treated for cancer in Texas. However, the doctor in-charge refused to believe in Turner's story as medical evidence didn't support mother's claim and the hospital authorities began digging into old blogs, media articles that had covered Olivia's case.
The investigations revealed that Make-a-Wish girl didn't suffer from any conditions that her mother had claimed she had. Also, when Olivia's body was exhumed from her grave and autopsy was performed, and the cause of death was inconclusive but was not related to intestinal failure, autism, and seizure disorder as mentioned in the death certificate. Multiple physicians told investigators that they had expressed doubts and offered alternative treatments to Turner but she refused their analyses and insisted that Olivia had several ailments. The doctors said none of the conditions suggested by Turner constituted terminal illness as per medical records.
The investigations also revealed that Turner had defrauded the Medicaid system of over $538,000, along with two foundations that provide memorable experiences to terminally ill children. Turner is scheduled to be sentenced on February 9.