Kelly Turner has pleaded guilty to theft, charity fraud and child abuse causing negligent death, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Turner’s attorney, Ara Ohanian, did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Turner had previously been charged with murder in the death of 7-year-old Olivia Grant, whose battle with cancer and various ailments was well documented. She had pleaded not guilty at the time.
Vikki Migoya, spokesperson for the district attorney, said other charges, including murder, were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
Olivia died in August 2017 of intestinal failure after Turner signed a non-resuscitation order, telling doctors that Olivia’s quality of life was too poor to keep her alive, according to an indictment from Turner in 2019.
An investigation began in 2018 after Turner took Olivia’s older sister to a Colorado hospital and said she had previously been treated for cancer in Texas. A doctor determined this was not true, and hospital officials subsequently found articles, blogs, social media posts and reports in which Turner said the eldest daughter was suffering from various ailments, including bone pain, which were not supported by medical records, the indictment mentioned.
Concerned about the circumstances surrounding Olivia’s death, authorities exhumed her body. An autopsy revealed “the lack of anatomical findings” indicating that she died of intestinal failure or suffered from most of the reported conditions, according to an Arapahoe County coroner, according to the deed. charge.
“The mode of death is best certified as indeterminate,” the coroner wrote.
Several medics told investigators Olivia’s purported conditions were not confirmed upon examination, prosecutors said, and six medics said none of the conditions constituted terminal illness. Many expressed doubts and offered alternative treatments to Turner, who would refuse their tests and insist that Olivia suffered from serious illnesses, authorities said.
Turner also allegedly received nearly $ 600,000 in Medicaid benefits and donations from charities and GoFundMe donors, according to the indictment, despite Turner’s husband working for a company that allegedly provided health insurance. to his wife and children.
Sentencing following the plea deal is set for February 9, according to the district attorney’s office.
CNN’s Allison Flexner, Eliott C. McLaughlin, and Artemis Moshtaghian contributed to this report.
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