Colorado mom pleads not guilty in daughter's death and charges of profiting on her 'rare' illness
Claimed her daughter had an incurable disease which an autopsy refuted
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Colorado woman accused of killing her 7-year-old daughter and soliciting donations on her behalf pleaded not guilty to charges Wednesday.
An attorney for Kelly Renee Turner, 43, entered the plea during a virtual Douglas County court hearing, The Denver Post reported. She faces a slew of charges, including first-degree murder, child abuse, second-degree forgery and attempt to influence a public servant, according to jail records.
She also is accused of defrauding the Medicaid system of more than $538,000.
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Kelly Renee Turner, 43, is charged with murdering her daughter Olivia Gant, 7. (Douglas County Sheriff's Office/Heflebower Funeral Home, Littleton, Colo.)
Local media outlets had covered her daughter, Olivia Gant, as she fulfilled a "bucket list" of final wishes while supposedly suffering from neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy. There is no cure for the rare disease that causes the body to shut down, a system at a time.
An indictment said the girl, who died in 2017, never had the illness. Her body was exhumed in 2018 and an autopsy determined there was no evidence she died of intestinal failure. The cause of death was inconclusive.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While checking off activities on her list, Gant dressed up as "bat princess" for a Make-A-Wish event where she took out foes throughout the Denver area.
"You could give me all the money in the world, and I would give it back to you to be able to watch this again," Turner, who went by Kelly Gant at the time, told a news outlet
Gant also got to ride in a police patrol car and sprayed water from a fire hose as a firefighter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Turner raised more than $22,000 through an online fundraiser for her daughter.
Media coverage showed 7-year-old Olivia Gant fulfilling a bucket list that included being a cop for a day (Denver Police Department)
Authorities became suspicious after she brought her other daughter to a hospital claiming she suffered from cancer.
The indictment said Turner stopped Gant's medical care in the weeks before her death, KUSA, the NBC affiliated television station in Denver, reported.
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She also convinced a doctor to sign a "do not resuscitate" order, arguing it was the humane thing to do because of her daughter's suffering, according to the news station.
Turner is being held in the Douglas County jail on a $250,000 bond.