Mother Accused of Killing Daughter She Claimed Was Terminally Ill

A Colorado mom has been accused of killing her daughter whom she claimed died of a terminal illness.

Authorities arrested 41-year-old Kelly Renee Turner on Friday at a hotel in Glendale on two counts of first-degree murder, one count of child abuse, three counts of theft, one count of charitable fraud, two counts of attempting to influence a public servant and two counts of second-degree forgery, according to Denver 7.

In 2017, the story of Turner’s 7-year-old daughter, Olivia, received much attention from the media and people all over the nation after she claimed the little girl had a terminal illness called neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy, a sickness that attacks the body’s vital organs.

A criminal investigation into Turner began in October of 2018 when Turner brought a second child to the hospital for doctors to treat what she called “bone pain.”

However, the indictment said Turner falsified information about the children’s medical history in order to get attention.

The indictment stated:

There is a concern that [mother of child] may have been benefiting from this attention and motivated some of the medical treatment [mother of child] sought for both [daughter’s name] and [daughter’s name]. There is a concern that [mother of child] has lied about the children’s medical conditions and therefore may have caused harm to the children and or caused them to have significant medical procedures.

Turner raised over $25,000 for Olivia’s cancer treatments by using a GoFundMe page and also helped her fulfill a “bucket list” of wishes.

Additionally, the Make-A-Wish Foundation spent over $11,000 on a bat princess party for Olivia and she went on multiple ride-alongs with police and fire crews.

In July of 2017, officials said the girl, who had been using a feeding tube, was admitted to Children’s Hospital Colorado because of a nutrition deficiency, according to Valley News Live.

The report continued:

One doctor told investigators that Turner wanted to withdraw all medical care and artificial feeding for her daughter because her quality of life was so bad. He said she insisted that he sign a “do not resuscitate” order for her daughter. Doctors had said Olivia wouldn’t be able to survive on IV nutrition, and Turner was given the option of taking her home on hospice care, according to the indictment. Olivia died a few weeks later.

In November of 2018, Olivia’s body was exhumed and an autopsy performed by Arapahoe County Coroner Dr. Kelly Lear. Although Lear said the girl’s manner of death was undetermined, there was a lack of evidence showing that it was caused by a terminal illness as her mother had previously claimed.

Turner is currently being held without bond and is expected to appear in court on November 1, according to Denver 7.