MAKAYLA NORMAN - 14 yo (with CP) - Cincinnati OH

CINCINNATI — A
mother and three nurses were charged Thursday in the death of the
woman's 14-year-old daughter, who had cerebral palsy and weighed 28
pounds, a prosecutor said.
A Montgomery County grand jury in Dayton indicted the mother and a
nurse on involuntary manslaughter charges. Two other nurses were
indicted on charges of failing to report child abuse or neglect. All are
being held in the county jail.

"This is a tragic and sad case wherein four adults were responsible
for the care of this 14-year-old special-needs girl, and they all
utterly ignored and failed to do so." Montgomery County Prosecutor
Mathias Heck Jr. said in a statement.

"The conduct of these four defendants transcends all bounds of human decency," he said.

Heck said that the girl undoubtedly would still be alive "if just one of these defendants had acted responsibly."

Makayla Norman died March 1 from nutritional and medical neglect
complicated by her chronic condition, the county coroner's office ruled.

"She was the worst malnourished child this office has ever seen," Ken Betz, director of the coroner's office, said Thursday.



Authorities have said that the teen died minutes after paramedics rushed her to a hospital.

The victim had numerous bed sores and showed other signs of neglect, and the prosecutor described the home as vile and filthy.

The girl's mother, Angela Norman, also was indicted on a felony count
and a misdemeanor count of endangering children. No attorney was listed
for Norman, whose age was listed as 42 in jail records.

Mollie E. Parsons, 41, of Dayton, was indicted on charges of
involuntary manslaughter, failing to provide for a functionally impaired
person and tampering with records. Kathryn Williams, 42, of Englewood,
and Mary K. Kilby, 63, of Miamisburg, were each charged with failing to
provide for a functionally impaired person and failing to report child
abuse or neglect. No attorneys were listed for them.

The teen was confined to her home and was supposed to be cared for by
her mother and Parsons, a licensed practical nurse whose job was to
administer care for the girl six days a week, according to the
prosecutor.

Williams and Kilby are registered nurses, the prosecutor's office
said. Williams was paid to supervise Parsons and visit and inspect the
living conditions and do a physical assessment of the girl every 30 to
60 days. Kilby was scheduled to visit every six months to also check on
conditions of the home and assess the girl's health, needs and care, the
statement said.

Children's services had a referral on the family in September 2009,
but it was unable to substantiate any allegations, Ann Stevens, a
spokeswoman for the Montgomery County Department of Job and Family
Services, said Thursday.

Stevens said she could not provide any additional information because
of confidentiality requirements, but she said the department would have
assisted the police and the prosecutor's office in their investigation
of the girl's death.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45340696/ns/us_news/#.Tsc7RVZnCEM

Prior to going to trial, the mother pled guilty to involuntary
manslaughter and child endangerment in the death of her 14-year-old
daughter who suffered from cerebral palsy.

On Friday, Angela Norman, 42, appeared in the
Montgomery County Common Pleas Court before Judge Mary Katherine
Huffman. Norman entered pleas of guilty to two felony counts of
involuntary manslaughter and endangering children in the death of her
daughter. She also pled guilty to a misdemeanor count of endangering
children in relation to another daughter.

Makayla Norman died on March 1, 2011. Norman was arrested on Nov. 16,
2011 after being indicted with three other women. The other three, two
of whom were registered nurses, were all responsible for the care of the
severely disabled Makayla.

The guilty pleas came less than two weeks before the four defendants were scheduled to go to trial.

As reported by the Dayton Daily News,
on the day she died, the 14-year-old weighed 28 pounds. She was covered
in lice, bedsores, and her skin was caked in dirt. At a hearing in an
unsuccessful attempt to lower Norman's $250,000 bail, evidence was
adduced that one of the defendants, Molly E. Parsons, a licensed nurse,
wrote in her notes before she left on the day Makayla died, that the
girl was in good health. Ten minutes after she left, Norman called 911
and reported her daughter was not breathing.

Makayla was rushed to Dayton's Children's Medical Center where she was pronounced dead minutes after arrival.

At the hearing to have the bail lowered, Det. Rebecca Rose, with Dayton's homicide squad, told Judge Huffman,

She was a skeleton with skin draped over it. It was horrific.

The detective also testified,

Makayla was totally dependent on her caregivers. When she died, she was half her previously recorded body weight.

All she was given was five or six cans of Ensure a day; fed to her through a feeding tube.

Dayton police found Norman's home in deplorable condition. Dead bugs and
fecal material were found throughout as well as piles of dirty dishes
and garbage. Makayla's sister was removed from the home.

Ken Betz, of the Miami Valley Coroner's Office, was quoted in the Dayton Daily News as saying,

We don't get cases like this. She was the worst malnourished child I think we've ever seen.

As reported by WHIO TV,
Norman's attorney tried to enter into a plea bargain but prosecutors
refused. Norman is due back in court on April 24 for sentencing.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/322602#ixzz1rSv8kY2b