Kayla Dutcher

 

 

 

 

 

 

Legally blind, Kayla Dutcher died October 7, 2007, from an overdose of Tramadol, a prescription painkiller. The El Paso County Department of Human Services determined she died of fatal neglect and a harmful environment, and listed her parents as being responsible. An investigation by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office resulted in no criminal charges. Kayla’s father, James, told deputies that he lost the lock to his pill bag a couple of days before Kayla’s. Her mother, Amy, told deputies that her son reported seeing Kayla picking up a loose pill off the floor and eating it.

 

The family had been referred to child welfare caseworkers nearly a month before Kayla’s death with an accusation that the family had no hot water or gas to cook food in their motor home. The children also allegedly were not attending school. The referral never was assessed and never was documented in the state’s database that tracks child abuse and neglect allegations. The family instead was forwarded to a program that provides services to help families become financially self-sufficient and to help keep families intact. The father declined those services five days before Kayla died.

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://childfatalities.denverpost.com/#id=10&name=DutcherKayla