Girl, 12, dies after being savaged by HEAD LICE causing heart attack as her parents charged with MURDER

A SCHOOLGIRL died after being savaged by a HEAD LICE infestation so severe it triggered a heart attack as her parents are charged with murder.

Kaitlyn Yozviak, 12, from Macon in Georgia, developed anaemia caused by repeated bites over three years which led to the fatal cardiac arrest.

Her parents Mary Katherine Horton, 37, and Joey Yozviak, 38, have been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree child cruelty over the tragic death.

Kaitlyn was so swarmed by the lice that agents from Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said it was the worst case they had ever seen.

Kaitlyn suffered excessive physical pain due to medical negligence, although the autopsy results are not yet complete, the GBI said.

EATEN ALIVE

Medical records show Kaitlyn died from cardiac arrest with a secondary cause being severe anaemia, special agent Ryan Hilton told Wilkinson County Superior Court.

He said he believed repeated bites from the lice lowered her blood iron levels, which likely caused the anaemia, and may have triggered the cardiac attack.

Her mother also told investigators Kaitlyn had not bathed within the last week and a half before she died.

When agents got to the home in August, the inside was filthy and in disrepair with vermin covering the mattress, stuffed animals and other furniture in Kaitlyns room, Hilton said.

Neighbors told agents they hadn’t seen Kaitlyn playing around the house for up to two months before her death in August.

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFSC) documents show that Kaitlyn’s two brothers were removed from the family home because of unsanitary conditions.

In 2008, DFCS opened another case around the time Kaitlyn was born, after the parents decided not to give her up for adoption.

The agency did not receive any reports on the family until 2018 where files show a call indicating the home was bug-infested with excessive cats, and hazardous conditions.

Kaitlyn was briefly placed with her aunt but returned to her parents’ home six days later.

The agency did not hear from the family again until after she died.

The last entry in the file is heavily redacted and concerns a conversation between GBI and child welfare authorities.

'VERY SWEET GIRL

Kaitlyn was described as a “very sweet girl” by devastated teachers at Clifton Ridge Middle School in Ivey.

Lelin Holt told WMAZ: “She was a very sweet, sweet girl. Always respectful, I've never had any issues out of her at all.

She added: “"I never saw anything that was super-off, anything to report. If I did, I would've definitely reported."

Kaitlyn’s maternal grandmother blasted authorities in a statement – accusing social workers of not doing enough to take care of the youngster.

She said: “Had the system done their job and rescued Kaitlyn, I would have raised her."

Source: Read Full Article