Parents of girl, 12, who died after severe head lice infestation bailed

The parents of a girl who died following a severe head lice infestation have been bailed on murder and child cruelty charges. Warning: Graphic

Kaitlyn Yozviak’s parents are charged with child cruelty and second-degree murder.

WARNING: Graphic content

Details have emerged of the horrifying death of a 12-year-old girl who was savaged by a head lice infestation so severe it triggered a heart attack.

Parents of Kaitlyn Yozviak, 12, from Macon in Georgia, have been charged with murder but were bailed on Tuesday.

Mary Katherine “Katie” Horton and John Joseph “Joey” Yozviak were each granted $100,000 bail.

Yozviak and Horton are both charged with child cruelty and second-degree murder.

RELATED: Girl, 12, had heart attack after severe head lice infestation

Her mother Mary Katherine Horton.

Her father John Joseph Yozviak.

Investigators said in September that Kaitlyn may have died as an indirect result of a severe lice infestation that may have gone on for years.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Special Agent Ryan Hilton testified that medical records show Kaitlyn died from cardiac arrest with a secondary cause being severe anaemia.

Mr Hilton testified that, at the time of her death, Kaitlyn had the most severe lice infestation the GBI office had ever seen, and it may have lasted on and off for at least three years.

RELATED: Girl who died after head lice infestation was meant to be adopted

Kaitlyn Yozviak, pictured with her teacher Courtney Williams in 2016.

‘WORST LICE INFESTATION I’VE SEEN’

He said he believed repeated lice bites lowered her blood iron levels, causing anaemia and triggering the cardiac attack.

The youngster had not bathed for a week before she was killed and was forced to live in a filthy room with rats swarming over her mattress, stuffed animals and furniture.

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

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) documents show that Kaitlyn’s two brothers were removed from the family home because of unsanitary conditions.

Neighbours told agents they hadn’t seen Kaitlyn playing around the house for up to two months before her death in August.

Kaitlyn Yozviak died in August 2020.

In 2008, around the time Kaitlyn was born, DFCS opened another case after the parents decided not to give her up for adoption.

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

Assistant District Attorney Brent Cochran told WMAZ-TV that prosecutors are still awaiting autopsy results and medical tests on Kaitlyn.

Mr Cochran could not say when he expects autopsy results, or when the case could go before a grand jury.

This article originally appeared on the US Sun and was republished with permission