KELLY Turner did everything she could to make sure her daughter, Olivia Gant lived a full life before she passed away at the age of seven.
The doting mum rallied behind her daughter to ensure her bucket list was ticked off, as Kelly had announced Olivia was terminally ill.
Olivia Gant was just seven years old when she tragically passed awayCredit: GoFundMe
Her mum did everything she could to tick off her daughter’s bucket listCredit: YouTube
But an unbelievable truth was hidding under the surface of Kelly TurnerCredit: DOUGLAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
Kelly, from , US, had three daughters, Olivia being her youngest, and took her to the hospital at the age of two for severe constipation.
It was 2012, and the treatment had been successful, but Kelly returned just a few months later, claiming her daughter was unable to eat properly.
Over the course of the next five years, Olivia would be treated for numerous diseases and illnesses, with her mum claiming she was terminally ill.
During that time, Kelly did everything she could to make Olivia’s time on earth special.
The mum left Texas for claiming that she wanted better treatment for Olivia.
The mum raised through as well as contacting the Make A Wish , who threw Olivia her dream “bat princess” costume party at a hotel that cost £8,000.
The mum also contacted the local fire and department so that Olivia could fulfill her dreams of catching a bad guy with police and being a firefighter.
In a video shared by the Denver municipal government, Olivia can be seen riding on a van, putting out a dumpster fire and telling firefighters to stand at attention — all of which are met with the little girl’s smiles and laughter despite several medical tubes poking out of her backpack.
In Olivia’s short life, she underwent 25 surgeries, had three feeding tubes placed in her, and spent much of her time on heavy medication.
But in reality, the mother was behind it all, using her daughter’s ‘illness’ to rake in thousands of pounds before she finally passed away.
In the of 2017, Olivia cheerfully sang Hakuna Matata from “The Lion King” as she was wheeled into hospice care in Denver wearing purple pajamas.
“It means no worries for the rest of your days,” she sang.
Less than a month later, Olivia would be dead.
Olivia was placed in hospital as her nutrition levels were deficient despite having a feeding tube.
While most parents would fight to keep their children alive, Kelly asked for her daughter to be taken off feed support and made the doctor sign a ‘Do Not Resuscitate Order.’
According to a 2019 indictment, Kelly told doctors that Olivia’s quality of life was too poor to keep her alive and she went into hospice care.
Famous cases of Munchausen’s syndrome and Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy
Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard (USA, 2015)
One of the most publicised modern Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy (MSBP) cases involved Dee Dee Blanchard fabricating illnesses in her daughter, , for years – subjecting her to unnecessary medical treatments and surgeries.
The case came to light after Gypsy’s involvement in her mother’s death.
Lacey Spears (USA, 2014)
Lacey Spears gained sympathy on social media by chronicling her young son’s supposed health struggles. Investigations revealed she was to make him appear ill, resulting in his death.
She was convicted of murder and is widely cited as an example of MSBP in the digital age.
Hope Ybarra (USA, 2009)
Texan woman and fabricated her daughter’s illnesses, giving false medical histories and even using medical devices unnecessarily. She was convicted of child injury and fraud related to her deceptions.
Cindy Buckshon
Cindy spent “most” of her life “pretending to be sick to get attention”. She , and deliberately gave herself a dozen concussions. She suffers from the self-imposed factitious disorder or more commonly known as Munchausen syndrome.
Brittany Phillips (USA, 2015)
after she fabricated illnesses for her young daughter— including claiming the child had conditions such as cystic fibrosis, sleep apnoea, and feeding-tube dependence before smearing human faeces onto her daughter’s feeding tube in a bid to make her more ill.
Brittany’s original court case was declared a mistrial. But soon after, in exchange for a five-year prison sentence, Phillips pleaded guilty to serious bodily injury to a child.
Unnamed woman (UK 2016)
A mother of six, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for fraud and child abuse after causing her children to undergo surgery for fictitious medical problems.
Lisa Hayden-Johnson (UK, 2010)
In one of the most notable examples of MSBP in the UK, Lisa Hayden-Johnson claimed her son was afflicted with numerous severe health issues, including cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and severe food allergies. She subjected him to over 325 unnecessary medical procedures and interventions.
Lisa was sentenced to three years and three months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of child cruelty and perverting the course of justice.
Olivia’s initial cause of death was listed as intestinal failure, but doctors soon grew suspicious of Kelly.
Only a year later, Kelly brought another one of her daughters to the hospital for ‘bone pain’ and it raised an into the mum.
Investigators discovered blogs, a GoFundMe site and stories in which Turner described Olivia’s various conditions without medical proof.
Kelly claimed that Olivia suffered from a seizure disorder, a tumor and a buildup of fluid in the cavities deep within her brain.
Olivia’s body was exhumed in 2018, and an autopsy found no physical evidence of that illness or other conditions that Kelly claimed her daughter suffered.
Her cause of death has since been classified as undetermined.
During the investigation, police separated Kelly from her older daughter to see if the girl would still report the same symptoms.
The daughter has not had any additional medical problems or complaints of pain since October 2018, the indictment said.
During an interview before her court hearing, investigators said Kelly spontaneously brought up Munchausen syndrome by proxy, reports The Guardian.
It is 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 attention.
“That has never been my case, like at all, whatsoever,” she said in the interview.
Kelly, now 47, has since been charged with child abuse, charitable fraud of around $100,000 and theft after pleading guilty and faces 16 years in .
Olivia at her Bat Princess costume party before she passed awayCredit: YouTube
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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