A 42-year-old mother from Colorado is accused of killing her 7-year-old daughter after pretending that she was sick to claim donations.
But on Wednesday, Kelly Turner reached a plea deal and had her murder charges dropped.
According to the district attorney’s office of the 18th Judicial District, she instead admitted to taking part in felony charity fraud, felony theft, and child abuse negligently causing death.
Turner previously pleaded not guilty to the 2017 murder of Olivia Gant, 7.
In 2019, Turner was indicted with two counts of first-degree murder as the Colorado law adds another charge when a person in a position of trust murders a minor.
The murder charges were accompanied by other charges related to her swindling Medicaid, charities, and hospitals out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
On Wednesday, she reached a plea deal in exchange for having the murder charges dropped.
7-year-old Olivia was originally thought to have passed away from her illnesses after her mother claimed that she suffered from a rare and fatal disease, as well as severe allergies, autism, intestinal failure, and seizures.
But authorities started to investigate her death after doctors became suspicious when Turner claimed that her other child also had medical conditions. She claimed that her eldest daughter had been treated for cancer and suffered various medical problems.
Doctors later confirmed that the mother’s claims were not true.
The mother-of-two was accused of defrauding the Medicaid system of over $538,000 and ripping off other fundraising platforms and charities.
“A few months ago, Olivia added a new diagnosis to her already long list. Which includes hydrocephalus, autism, seizure disorder, motility issues, sensory processing disorder, AV vascular malformation, focal cortico dysplasia, tumor on the paratiod gland and developmental delays,” Turner claimed.
“This diagnosis however doesn’t come with a cure, with treatments to prevent or a promise of life. This diagnosis Neurogastrointestinal Encephalomyopathy.”
In July 2017, Olivia was admitted to Children’s Hospital Colorado where doctors said her nutrition was deficient.
The actual cause of death was changed from intestinal failure to ‘undetermined’ after an autopsy found no physical evidence of an intestinal illness and other medical problems.
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