Mother And Grandmother Charged With Murder After 9-Year-Old Dies From Lice Infestation

Sandra Kraykovich, 38, a nine-year-old girl’s mother, and Elizabeth Kraykovich, 64, the grandmother, have new felony charges of first-degree murder.

On March 22, the Tucson, Arizona, fire department responded to the scene about an unresponsive child at a residence in the 8200 block of East Golf Links Road. They then found an unresponsive 9-year-old girl and tried to conduct life-saving measures. However, the girl died at the location.

Documents note that once the child died, “large amounts of bugs began to cover her face.”

After looking further into the matter, a huge amount of lice was found in the girl’s hair. Sandra told authorities that her daughter had anemia and had been sick since March 15. She had been experiencing headaches, a sore throat, fever, difficulty breathing, and problems staying balanced.

One of the child’s siblings told police that their mother had tried to eliminate the lice with mouthwash.

Text messages on the mother’s phone revealed that she decided not to seek medical attention for the girl’s symptoms. On March 14 and March 15, the mother texted her boyfriend, stating that she was aware that her daughter needed to go to a medical facility. Then, on March 21, she sent him a message saying, “OMG babe…my mom called me…was asking if I could check on her to make sure she isn’t dying.”

Sandra’s boyfriend is said to have told her to take the child to the hospital, but she didn’t.

In one message, Elizabeth warned Sandra that she was going to call 911 as she watched her granddaughter while Sandra worked. However, she chose not to, citing “can’t go to the ER with hair but that’s left to me because you [sic] not home.”

When questioned, Sandra confessed that if the child had been taken to the hospital, she wouldn’t have died, authorities say.

In March, the two women were first charged with felony child abuse. This is after two other children in the home had lice infestations that weren’t treated.

After an autopsy was performed, it was found that the 9-year-old died from neglect. “She died from anemia from untreated lice infestation with malnutrition as a contributing factor. That’s the cause,” the medical examiner stated. To add, a report stated that the girl had fluid buildup in her lung tissue, liver necrosis, and an iron deficiency.

Sandra is being held in custody on a $55,000 bond. Records for Elizabeth had not been located.