‘Munchausen’ mother jailed for 16 years in daughter’s death after faking her terminal illness

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A Colorado mother has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after the death of her seven-year-old daughter, who suffered serious and ultimately fatal ailments throughout her young life in a severe alleged case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

Kelly Turner, 43, had been charged with murder before pleading guilty to lesser charges earlier this year in the death of her daughter, Olivia Gant, who prosecutors say was subjected to unnecessary and life-threatening procedures as a result of her mother’s lies. The child died in hospice.

On Wednesday, the mother was sentenced to 16 years in prison for her role in Olivia’s death and her acceptance of charitable handouts worth at least $100,000.

Ms Turner wept last month as she pleaded guilty to child abuse that negligently caused her daughter’s death, the Denver Post reported – in addition to two theft charges. At that time, Judge Patricia Herron agreed to a 16-year-sentence, though the penalty was not set in stone until Wednesday.

“For any number of reasons, I understand how we end up here,” the judge said last month. “But it’s difficult when we have the death of a young child. A death after, what the court considers from my review of the documents, after this child had been submitted to a lifetime of painful, frightening tests and surgical procedures ultimately resulting in this child’s death.

“It is unthinkable, and from this court’s perspective, generally would be met with the harshest of sentences.”

A Post investigation previously “found that some doctors and nurses at Children’s Hospital Colorado raised concerns that Olivia was being medically abused by her mother before Olivia died, but the hospital did not report their suspicions to any outside agencies.”

According to the original indictment, Turner “spontaneously brought up Munchausen syndrome by proxy — a psychological disorder in which parents or caregivers seek attention from the illness of their children or dependents and sometimes cause them injuries that require treatment — while being questioned by investigators but denied that she had it,” AP reported.

The child’s father and grandparents sued the hospital system for $25m in a case that was resolved in August, though a lawyer for the plaintiffs told AP at the time that she could not comment.

After Olivia’s death, Turner brought her older daughter to the same hospital with complaints, prompting further suspicion and investigation, AP reported.