The parents of a 12-year-old girl who died of a heart attack linked to a severe headlice infestation have been charged in relation to the child’s death. Kaitlyn Yozviak from Macon, Georgia went into cardiac arrest after suffering from severe lice bites over the period of three years which caused her to develop anemia, AP reports. After a preliminary examination of the evidence, Wilkinson County Superior Court Judge Brenda Trammell agreed there was enough to charge Mary Katherine Horton, 37, and Joey Yozviak, 38, with second-degree child cruelty.
- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation had never seen anything so horrendous. Agents claimed the headlice infestation Kaitlyn was suffering was the worse they’d ever seen and that the insects were “swarming” in the child’s hair. Prior to her death, she hadn’t been bathed in over a week and was being forced to stay in a room full of vermin.
- Police believe Kaitlyn was living in agony. The conditions Kaitlyn was living in were so poor, agents believe that the little girl must have spent her final days in total agony even before the heart attack.
- Kaitlyn’s siblings have since been removed from the house. The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFSC) released a document in which they revealed that Kaitlyn’s two brothers were removed from the home due to the horrific living conditions observed there.
- Authorities were aware of the conditions prior to Kaitlyn’s death. DFCS had been in contact with Kaitlyn’s family when she was born as the parents originally planned to give her up for adoption but later decided against it. There was no further contact until 2018, when reports revealed that the home Kaitlyn was living in was terribly unsanitary, was infested with bugs and cats, and was hazardous to children. They took Kaitlyn to live with an aunt but brought her back to her parents in only six days.
