The couple who had tried adopting a 12-year-old Georgia girl named Kaitlyn Yozviak is speaking out after she died and how they felt when her adoption fell through. Now her biological parents are being charged with her murder.
According to 13WMAZ, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s preliminary investigation showed that Kaitlyn suffered “excessive physical pain due to medical negligence,” and Special Agent Mary Chandler said her condition “was one of the worst she’s ever seen.”
Police Believe Neglected Girl Died from Most Severe Case of Head Lice Ever
Kaitlyn, her siblings, and their parents have a long history with the state Department of Family and Children Services. Her brothers had been removed from Katie Horton and Joey Yozviak‘s home due to unsanitary conditions.
As 13WMAZ reports, in 2008, one of the first DFCS cases involving Kaitlyn was opened. It was right around the time she was born and her parents decided to not put her up for adoption. More cases were then opened around 2018 after DFCS received reports that she was living in a “bug-infested” home “[with] excessive cats and hazardous conditions.”
Kaitlyn was sent to live with one of her aunts only to be returned to her parents six days later. The next time DFCS was notified about Kaitlyn, she had passed away.
While the 12-year-old’s cause of death has not been released, 13WMAZ said Monday’s probable cause hearing provided the clearest look as to what happened to Kaitlyn. According to GBI Special Agent Ryan Hilton, Kaitlyn had “the most severe” lice infestation at the time of her death GBI has ever seen, he told Judge Brenda Trammell. It’s believed that the infestation “may have lasted on and off for at least three years.”
While at the probable cause hearing, Hilton also cited medical records from Navicent Health Baldwin. Based on those records, Kaitlyn’s “primary cause of death was cardiac arrest with a secondary cause being severe anemia,” anemia Hilton believes was caused by the consistent bug bites to her scalp, as a result of the lice.
Her mother also told investigators that Kaitlyn hadn’t been bathed in weeks and neighbors revealed they hadn’t seen the young girl playing around her house in weeks. Now, the couple who was supposed to adopt Kaitlyn is speaking out.
Michele and Dwyatt Creamer told 13WMAZ that they’ve grieved Kaitlyn twice now. “I never dreamed it would end like this. Never,” Michele admitted.
The Creamers were the couple attempting to adopt Kaitlyn in 2008 when her biological family ultimately opted to keep Kaitlyn as their own. “We had absolutely 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,” Michele told 13WMAZ.
According to the Creamers, Katie Horton and Joey Yozviak “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.”
As a result, the day Horton went into labor, they were at the hospital when Kaitlyn was born preparing to take her home. “I named her. I was in the delivery room. We held her. I have probably 100 pictures of her first few hours. She had beautiful dark eyes, beautiful dark eyes. She was absolutely gorgeous, so alert.”
But the next day, Horton reportedly told Michele that she felt obligated to keep Kaitlyn even though she didn’t want to.
“When I went to the hospital, we were supposed to go home that day. I had the car seat. I had the diaper bag. I had her outfit to go home in. I had everything there. When I walked into her room, [Horton] was crying. 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.’ We never dreamed they changed their minds. They were adamant that, ‘This baby is yours,’ and the worst part for us was we really didn’t know what she was going to be going into.”
And even though Michele told Horton to call her if she changed her mind, they never heard from Kaitlyn or her parents again. Michele and Dwyatt learned about Kaitlyn’s death after seeing 13WMAZ’s initial report.
In the end, Michele says, “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.”