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Year in review: Douglas County mother set to go to trial in child’s death

The Colorado mom accused of killing her 7-year-old daughter in an alleged scheme to defraud Medicaid is set to go to trial in Douglas County in February.

Kelly Turner, 44, was indicted on Oct. 17, 2019, on 13 charges including first-degree murder, child abuse, theft, charitable fraud, forgery and attempted influence of a public servant.

Olivia Gant died in hospice care on Aug. 20, 2017, after five years of treatment at Children’s Hospital Colorado for an illness prosecutors say her mother created for attention and monetary gain.

Olivia appeared on several promotional videos laughing, running through the halls and baking a special birthday cake with Ms. Colorado to raise money for Children’s Hospital. Turner ran several GoFundMe sites for the child and is accusing of bilking Medicaid for thousands of dollars in unnecessary medical care.

A smiling Olivia was often dressed in a Batgirl outfit with her feeding tube attached to a backpack. Before she died, she got to ride in a fire truck to put out a “fire” while empathetic onlookers waved and cheered. Her funeral was a little girl’s dream, complete with mourning actors portraying “Beauty and the Beast” characters.

Turner claimed Olivia died of intestinal failure, but an autopsy found no evidence of intestinal disease. The official cause of death was undetermined. Gant’s body was exhumed for the autopsy as part of the investigation into her death.

Authorities didn’t start looking into Turner’s involvement in her child’s death until 2018. That’s when Turner started bringing in another daughter for care, claiming the child was suffering from “bone pain” from cancer. When doctors checked out those complaints, they found no indication of cancer.

Olivia Gant's
Olivia Gant’s “illness” captured the attention of many organizations including a fire station, police organizations and citizens who wanted to make her short life as much fun as it could be. (South Metro Fire Department)
Kelly Renee Turner (9News)
Kelly Renee Turner (9News)


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