A mother and grandmother from Arizona have been charged with first-degree murder following the death of a 9-year-old girl.
In March, Sandra and Elizabeth Kraykovitch were charged with child abuse following the death of the young girl. Further investigation into the gruesome case, however, concluded that the charge of child abuse may not be enough for the two women.
The Tucson Police Department responded to a call from the Tucson Fire Department in March regarding an unresponsive child. Police reports state that “large amounts of bugs” began to cover the child’s face, and despite their best efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene with “enormous amounts of lice in her hair”.
Related: Parents Charged With Murder After Allegedly Killing 1-Year-Old Son & Leaving His Body In Their Car
Elizabeth, grandmother of the unnamed child, said that she “considered” taking the child to the emergency room but “decided against it” because her granddaughter was sleeping.
If her grandchild was so severely sick, why would her being unconscious be a reason not to get her help?! Well, her other excuse is even more shocking — Elizabeth claims she didn’t take her child to the emergency room BECAUSE of the lice infestation! WTF?! In a text to the child’s mother, the grandmother said:
“… can’t go to the ER with her hair but that’s left to me because your not home.”
How sickening! They couldn’t go to the ER because of the head lice? Was she afraid to get in trouble for the child neglect that was clearly taking place? She also said “that’s left to me” as if the severely ill child is an inconvenience!
After reading texts between the mother-daughter pair, it was made clear to police that both women were COMPLETELY AWARE of the situation. Several messages detailed the condition of the girl, but neither of the women seemed to be able to make a decision. The 64-year-old grandmother threatened to call 911 for the sick child at one point, but the mother, 38-year-old Sandra, refused!
In another text, this time from Sandra to her boyfriend, a haunting statement is made about the little girl:
“OMG babe. Listen I’m in my room and my mom was called me. (Child) was asking if I could check on her to make sure she isn’t dying.”
The ill little girl was asking her mother to check on her to make sure she isn’t dying… and she couldn’t be bothered. Even though she really was dying. Absolutely heartbreaking.
Allegedly, Sandra’s boyfriend begged for the child to be taken to the hospital, but to no avail. Both mother and grandmother continued to refuse to properly care for the child.
It has been confirmed by autopsy reports that the child died due to a combination of anemia due to the lice infestation and malnutrition. Pima County Medical Examiner Dr. Gregory L. Hess also found fluid buildup in her lung tissue, pale skin and organs, liver necrosis, and an iron deficiency.
Sandra somehow still denies the lice infestation contributed to the death of her daughter, but she does admit if she would’ve acted quicker that the child would have survived:
“If I sought medical care, (she) would probably still be alive.”
It’s so tragic for the innocent child that was involved in such a terrible situation. The case is now being considered a homicide and the women are facing first degree murder charges for the incident.
See the full update (below):
