Local Make-A-Wish kid Olivia Gant is the suspected victim of her mother’s fake story, subjected to years of unnecessary medical treatment.

Many in the Colorado community remember the story of Olivia Gant, a seven-year-old child who was terminally ill and the recipient of a Make-A-Wish Foundation gift. Gant died in August of 2017 after years of treatment for multiple illnesses, and at the time, her death was attributed to intestinal failure. However, authorities are now saying that wasn't the case ...

Mother Charged Two Years After Girl's Death

On Friday, October 18, Olivia Gant’s mother, Kelly Renee Turner, was taken into custody by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department. Turner was arrested and is now being charged with murder, among other charges, related to the death of her daughter. She faces 13 criminal counts altogether, including two counts of murder in the first degree, child abuse, theft, charitable fraud, attempting to influence a Pubic Servant, and forgery. Turner is suspected of forging documents and stealing almost half a million dollars from Medicaid from 2014 to 2018.

She is being held without bond at the Douglas County Jail.

Turner’s lawyer of record, Ara K. Ohanian, has yet to release a statement regarding the case at the time of this writing. The arrest comes after a year-long investigation conducted by multiple law enforcement and other agencies.

Olivia Gant, courtesy of Prayers for Olivia Gant blog. 

What Happened to Olivia Gant?

Turner, also known as Kelly Gant, moved with her children to the Littleton area from Texas in 2013 and began seeking treatment for Olivia at the Children’s Hospital Colorado. Turner claimed Gant suffered from a seizure disorder, excess fluid in her brain, autism, constipation, developmental delays, and a rare disorder that affects organ functions; neurogastrointestinal encephalopathy.

She ran a blog, "Prayers for Olivia Gant", that described the girl as a child plagued with terminal and often untreatable conditions since birth. Olivia underwent multiple surgeries in her life, including an ostomy procedure and a feeding tube inserted directly into her small bowel.

Four years after she moved to the Denver area, Olivia was admitted to hospice, with severely deficient nutrition. Turner asked to have all artificial feeding withheld, had a “Do Not Resuscitate” order signed by doctors, and withdrew consent for any medical care, choosing to take Olivia home. The girl passed away a short time later and was buried at Seven Stones Cemetery. Her obituary attributes her death to a "long battle with a rare disease", and describes her as a princess.

Olivia was an adorable and easy-to-love child, and her story made people want to help. Turner ran many campaigns to fundraise for her daughter in her short life, raising over $22,000 on GoFundMe—a campaign said to be raising funds to support her care. Turner developed a "bucket list" for Olivia, and the community rallied to make the child’s dreams of being a firefighter and police officer a reality. Oliva was taken on a police ride-along, local companies and foundations donated to her cause, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation gave $11,000 to throw Olivia a "Bat Princess" party of her dreams.

The video below documents one of Olvia's adventures, where she got to be a firefighter for a day. Her mother is shown in the video discussing her daughter's conditions. 

Investigation 

Doctors had long questioned Turner's claims and medical choices for Olivia, but sadly, were unable to protect her from her mother’s scheme. An investigation into Turner began after she sought out treatment for an older daughter at Children’s Hospital Colorado, claiming that the child had cancer in the past and was experiencing bone pain. That prompted doctors to become suspicious and an investigation began. The older child has since been separated from her mother and has had no medical issues or complaints of bone pain in a year’s time, nor has she ever been treated for cancer.

In interviews, doctors expressed their concerns over Turner's choices regarding Olivia’s medical care and disputed her claims the child was terminally ill. The investigation revealed the blog, as well as several other financial solicitation efforts Turner was running.

Investigators have revealed that, in an interview, Turner herself brought up Munchausen by proxy, a situation in which a caregiver fakes or causes symptoms of an illness in a child or other dependent. And in most cases, it's done for the attention and other benefits it brings them. As part of the investigative process, Olivia’s body was exhumed and an autopsy was conducted in 2018. Intestinal failure or terminal disease was ruled out as a cause of death, which is now listed as "undetermined".

Turner is also suspected of ripping off a local limousine business after Olivia died, and Thornton Police Department is investigating an incident with Sunset Luxury Limousine. The company says Turner ordered a car in February 2019, over a year after Olivia died, claiming she was with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and that the car was for a party for her terminally ill child. She was given a 50 percent discount and allowed to pay with a check, which did not clear. After the check went to a closed account, the business contacted Make-A-Wish, which clarified that Turner was not associated with them. Turner is accused of running comparable scams on other businesses using similar stories.

We are saddened and shocked to hear this news and will follow the story as the case unfolds. Turner is scheduled to appear in court on November 1 for a hearing. Eventually, the truth of what happened to Olivia will come out, and justice will hopefully run its course. If convicted, Turner faces a very long time in prison.

What is your reaction to this news? Do you remember the Olivia Gant case? Sound off in the comments. Rest in peace, sweet Olivia.