Girl, 12, who died from head lice infestation was meant to be adopted

The 12-year-old girl who died from severe head lice infestation was meant to be adopted, as arrested parents allegedly couldn’t care for her.

A couple who were in the delivery room, ready to adopt Kaitlyn Yozviak 12 years ago, have spoken out for the first time since her death.

The schoolgirl, from Macon in Georgia, US, died on August 28 after a heart attack, caused by severe anaemia likely resulting from a head lice infestation so severe agents from Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said it was the worst case they had ever seen.

The young girl was forced to live in a house so filthy and rat-infested, that over three years she suffered from repeated lice bites which authorities believe led to her fatal cardiac arrest.

Experts said her condition was so horrific she would have been living in constant agony.

Her parents – Mary Katherine Horton, 37, and Joey Yozviak, 38 – have since been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree child cruelty over her tragic death.

Michele and Dwyatt Creamer say they were due to adopt Kaitlyn in June 2008 before Horton and Yozviak changed their minds.

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Kaitlyn Yozviak, 12, developed anaemia caused by repeated bites over three years which authorities believe led to the fatal cardiac arrest.

‘I DON'T WANT HER’

When they found out Kaitlyn had died, they said they “never imagined it would end like this”.

They say they were waiting nine months to adopt Kaitlyn, and were even there in the delivery room when she was born.

“I named her. I was in the delivery room. We held her. I have probably 100 pictures of her first few hours,” Ms Creamer told US TV network’s First Coast News.

“She had beautiful dark eyes, beautiful dark eyes. She was absolutely gorgeous, so alert.”

Ms Creamer said they had everything ready.

“Car seat, baby bed, furniture, everything (in the nursery) was pink and brown. I had an outfit to bring her home in. A diaper bag, absolutely everything.”

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Kaitlyn’s mum Mary Katherine Horton, 37, has been charged with second-degree murder.

Kaitlyn’s dad Joey Yozviak, 38, has also been charged with second-degree murder.

The Creamers said Ms Horton and Mr Yozviak told them they wouldn’t be able to take care of the baby themselves.

“They didn’t have a home of their own. He worked a part-time job at that point. She didn’t work at all. They felt like they couldn’t provide for her.”

But the day after Kaitlyn was born Ms Horton told the pair she had changed her mind, saying she felt obligated to keep her daughter.

“She looked to me that day and said, ‘This baby is supposed to be yours. This baby’s supposed to be yours. I don’t want this baby, but I feel like I have to.’”

Ms Creamer had Ms Horton’s number saved in her phone in the hopes she would one day change her mind.

But instead, she says the next time she heard about Kaitlyn was when headlines announced the horror of her death.

“It was so hard … knowing we were within seven hours of her life being completely different,” Ms Creamer said.

“I know where Kaitlyn is, and I know we’ll see her again one day. I know we’ll actually be able to hold her again one day,” Ms Creamer told First Coast News.

Dwyatt and Michele Creamer were going to adopt Kaitlyn in 2008, but her parents changed their minds the day after she was born.

HORRIFIC DEATH

It was August 27 when authorities had responded to a call about an unresponsive child at a home in Wilkerson County, in the US state of Georgia.

When they arrived, they found 12-year-old Kaitlyn and rushed her to hospital – where she was pronounced dead.

“I was mind-blown when I saw her laying there, so that took a lot out of me knowing the child was unresponsive,” Ivey Police Chief Untimothy Roby said.

Kaitlyn had reportedly not bathed for a week before she died.

She was living in a house so filthy that even her two brothers had been removed from the premises, according to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS).

Michele holding Kaitlin the day she was born in June 2008.

Dwyatt also with baby Kaitlyn. The couple had everything ready to take Kaitlyn home.

Medical records show Kaitlyn died from cardiac arrest with a secondary cause being severe anaemia, Special Agent Ryan Hilton told Wilkinson County Superior Court.

He said he believed repeated bites from the lice lowered her blood iron levels, which likely caused the anaemia, and may have triggered the cardiac attack.

The DFCS previously opened a case on the family around the time Kaitlyn was born, when her decided not to give her up for adoption.

The agency did not receive any reports on the family until 2018, The Sun reported, where files show a call indicating the home was bug-infested with excessive cats and hazardous conditions.

Kaitlyn was briefly placed with her aunt but returned to her parents’ home just six days later.

The agency did not hear from the family again until after she died.

The last entry in the file is heavily redacted and concerns a conversation between GBI and child welfare authorities.

Kaitlyn with her teacher, Courtney Amerson Williams, in 2016.

‘VERY SWEET GIRL’

Kaitlyn was described as a “very sweet girl” by devastated teachers at Clifton Ridge Middle School in Ivey.

Lelin Holt told WMAZ: “She was a very sweet, sweet girl. Always respectful. I’ve never had any issues out of her at all.

“I never saw anything that was super off, anything to report. If I did, I would’ve definitely reported.”

Kaitlyn’s maternal grandmother blasted authorities in a statement, accusing social workers of not doing enough to take care of the youngster.

“Had the system done their job and rescued Kaitlyn, I would have raised her,” she said.