IVEY, Ga. (AP) — Parents charged with the murder of their 12-year-old daughter have been granted bail because prosecutors have not yet sought their indictment by a grand jury.
Mary Katherine “Katie” Horton and John Joseph “Joey” Yozviak were each granted $100,000 bail Monday. Both remained jailed Monday night in Wilkinson County.
Yozviak and Horton are both charged with child cruelty and second-degree murder. Investigators said in September that the girl, Kaitlyn Yozviak, may have died as an indirect result of a severe lice infestation that may have gone on for years.
Assistant District Attorney Brent Cochran tells WMAZ-TV that prosecutors are still awaiting autopsy results and medical tests on Kaitlyn.
Cochran could not say when he expects autopsy results, or when the case could go before a grand jury.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Ryan Hilton testified that medical records show Kaitlyn died from cardiac arrest with a secondary cause being severe anemia.
Hilton testified that, at the time of her death, Kaitlyn had “the most severe” lice infestation the GBI’s office had ever seen, and it may have lasted on and off for at least three years. He said he believed repeated lice bites lowered her blood iron levels, causing anemia and triggering the cardiac attack.
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