IN - Rosa “May May” Hargrave, 12, autistic, died from sepsis as result of wound neglect, house infestation, 3 caretakers charged, Apr 2023

[imstilla.grandma]

An Indianapolis child is dead due to sepsis after police say her three caretakers did not clean an infection on her back.

12-year-old Rosa Hargrave was living in a house that was infested with rodents, feces, bugs and rotten food, court documents state.

Rosa, better known as May May, died just two days after her mother took her to Riley Hospital for an oozing wound on her back and abdomen, according to court documents.

Court records state the wound was from a skin graft that was done over a year ago. The wound was supposed to be cleaned daily, but it wasn’t.

A DCS case manager contacted IMPD about May May’s situation.

According to court documents, DCS told IMPD officers that May May was autistic and nonverbal. They added that she hadn’t been eating for the past four to five days.

“We didn’t know about the conditions she was in because they wouldn’t let us inside the house. She would just be outside,” a family spokesperson of May May’s father’s side said.

May May’s death was ruled a homicide and painted a bigger issue inside the home she lived in.

Court documents detail deplorable conditions inside the house, including the discovery of mice, cockroaches, bugs, feces and rotten food.

Police also say it smelled toxic inside the home.

“We didn’t know. Andrew [May May's father] only had visitation rights so we couldn’t get her,” the spokesperson said.

Family of child who died from sepsis says DCS placed her back in unsafe home

An Indianapolis child is dead due to sepsis after police say her three caretakers did not clean an infection on her back.

www.wrtv.com

 

[tlcya]

The hits keep on coming. so many cases of neglect to the point of death for the most vulnerable, the ill, the old, those who don't have a voice due to their condition or due to being isolated and hidden away from the eyes of the world. It makes me wonder if we are just hearing it more lately or if humans have simply become less humane in recent years.

I'm sorry May May, life should not have been as hard as it appears to have been and you should not have died in such a way.

 

[tlcya]

The family doesn't want May May to be remembered by the condition or manner she died in, rather the young girl she was.

“She loved bubbles. She loved playing with chalk. She loved babies, like little kids,” the spokesperson said.

May May's family says she was a girly girl and loved all things pink.
Family of child who died from sepsis says DCS placed her back in unsafe home

Court documents show that the 12-year-old and four other children under the age of 6 were living in a home filled with rodents, bugs, feces and rotten food.
[snip]
Officers also found four children all under the age of 6 living inside the home.

The children, IMPD said, had bug and mouse bites, rashes and matted dirt on their bodies. One child had a heavily soiled diaper. Another had red marks and bruising on his face.

Two of the kids were determined to be the children of Rosa’s mother and her boyfriend, Charles Turner. The other two kids were the children of Rosa’s aunt, Felicia Hargrave.
3 charged with neglect in death of Indy 12-year-old, mice and feces found inside home

Obituary​

Rosa "May May" May Hargrave, 12, passed away on March 2, 2023.
May May was born in Indianapolis, IN on April 23, 2010 to Andrew Bowling Jr and Rosa Danielle Hargrave. May May was a girly girl. She loved everything pink. She enjoyed watching youtube videos. She was very affectionate, but liked her independence. May May was sassy, but very sweet. She adored her sisters and cousins. She was absolutely a Grandpa's and Grandma's girl. May May wore her heart on her sleeve, and you always knew what she was feeling. Like all first borns, she was a hustler and very good at getting what she wanted, all she had to do was pull the puppy dog eyes.
May May is survived by her mother Rosa Danielle; her father Andrew Bowling Jr; her siblings Leroy and Roseana; her aunts Jennifer and Felicia; honorary aunt Sherry; great-grandmother Peggy West; and many cousins and friends.
May May is preceded in passing by her grandparents Russell Jr and Gail Hargrave and Margie West.
Services for May May will be 1 PM, Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at Fountain Square Cremation & Funeral Services. Visitation will be from 11 AM until the hour of service. Burial will follow services at New Crown Cemetery.
Obituary for Rosa May Hargrave | Fountain Square Mortuary

 

[Goecke]

My first thought was why she needed a skin graft to begin with, and why the graft hadn't healed after over a year. Apparently she needed it after she had surgery ('mom' said it was to remove her gallbladder, autopsy revealed she still had her gallbladder but her appendix had been removed) and the wound got infected. Okay, infections after surgery happen, but I've never heard of an infection that required a skin graft that large (it apparently extended from her abdomen to her back). I can't imagine how much pain poor May May must have been in, living with that for over a year. There were so many signs she was being neglected but nothing was done.

ETA: Read the article again, 'mom' claimed that the initial infection she needed the skin graft for was for a post-surgical wound but dad said it wasn't related to surgery and the infection came from her skin not being cleaned properly. Knowing when her appendix was removed (or if she had any other surgeries on her abdomen/back) would clear this up a lot. Either way I'm shocked that May May was allowed to stay in the house after that. Even if it was an infection after surgery there's no explanation to why she needed that large of a skin graft if some level of neglect wasn't involved.