An Indiana mom is demanding charges to be filed against her babysitter after her three-year-old daughter was found dead in a septic tank while under her care.
Jill Humphries said she is devastated after hearing that the babysitter, who is a minor and also her niece, will not be prosecuted over the October death of her daughter Kenna.
‘I want justice,’ she told Fox19. ‘I don’t feel like any justice has been served. She neglected my child and my child ended up dead in a septic tank.’
Ripley County Prosecutor Ric Hertel said he understood her disappointment that charges were not filed, but while his ‘heart goes out to her,’ there are ‘some situations that are terrible accidents.’
Kenna, 3, was found dead in a septic tank in October while under the care of her babysitter
The three-year-old’s heartbroken mother Jill Humphries (pictured) said her daughter’s death ‘took something irreplaceable’, as she demanded charges be filed over the tragedy
Humphries said the tragedy unfolded hours after she dropped Kenna off with her niece near her home in Versailles, Indiana and went to work.
A few hours later, she received a frantic phone call from her sister telling her, ‘There’s something wrong with Kenna, she’s not moving. They’re doing CPR.’
‘She was hysterical,’ she added.
Kenna had been found unconscious inside a septic tank, with it believed that she likely dragged open the lid to the tank and either got in on purpose, or fell in.
Humphries said her daughter was ‘ice cold’ when she was found, and she ‘had sewage in her hair and in her eyes’.
The grief-stricken mother said she immediately left work and raced to the hospital, but by the time she arrived her daughter had already been pronounced dead.
‘They all knew she was gone when she got there,’ she said. ‘The coroner said she had no heat left in her.
‘I rocked her for probably six-and-a-half hours, until the coroner and the deputy coroner promised me they’d take good care of her.’
Although the coroner ruled that the death was a tragic accident not worth prosecuting, Humphries said she is heartbroken by the decision.
‘She took something from me that is irreplaceable… some days I can’t get up, some days I can’t take myself to work,’ she added.
‘Negligence… she neglected my child, and my child, as a result, ended up dead in a septic tank.’
Kenna was described by a relative as ‘the most beautiful thing ever’ who ‘loved Snapchat filters and sticking her tongue out’
Investigators said that while their ‘heart goes out’ to the girl’s devastated family, it was determined that they would not press charges, adding that there are ‘some situations that are terrible accidents’
Kenna was found ‘ice cold’ in a septic tank in October in what officials ruled was a ‘terrible accident’, with it believed she may have lifted the lid and either climbed in or fallen
Humphries said she is considering launching a lawsuit in response to the decision to seek civil damages, but the lack of any criminal prosecution has left her even more bereaved.
Humphries previously took to social media to share her disbelief at losing her ‘gorgeous and angelic’ young daughter so suddenly.
She said in a post this month: ‘I’ll say it over and over until I can’t say it anymore, (the babysitter) and who knows who else was present killed my baby and its getting swept under a rug’.
‘I have to figure out a way to survive without my beautiful little girl.
‘She was gorgeous and angelic until her last breath and I can’t fathom how this is happening.’
She said her family is not celebrating Christmas this year because the heartbreak has been doubled by the loss of her sister just two days after losing her daughter.
In a GoFundMe set up to help the mother deal with the tragedies, a friend named as Alicia said Humphries has been ‘going through more than most of us could ever imagine.’
‘After a string of tragic events in Jill’s life… She needs her warriors to step up and help as much as possible,’ the fundraiser added.
Kenna’s father is previously deceased, according to an online obituary for the three-year-old.
The obituary described her as ‘a joyful and happy little girl’ who was ‘full of life, had a great imagination, and dearly loved swimming.
Humphries took to social media this month to share her disbelief at losing her ‘gorgeous and angelic’ young daughter so suddenly
Tributes have poured in for the ‘bright and joyous’ child, as a family member said she was ‘nothing but an angel’
‘She would dance to all her little songs she loved. Kenna loved playing Barbie’s and her little teddy bear “Ted” brought her so much joy and comfort. Kenna’s bright and joyous smile will be so missed in her family and friends.’
As tributes continue to pour in for the loss of the youngster, another family member said in a Facebook post that Kenna was ‘the most beautiful thing ever.’
‘She loved the snapchat filters, and sticking her tongue out, this one’s for you baby girl,’ the post read.
‘There are absolutely no words. Sissy loves you more than you’ll ever know baby. Everyone loved you and you loved everyone.
‘You were the sweetest, the goofiest, and the brattiest ever. Nothing but an angel. You’ll never ever be forgotten. You are so so loved. Sissy loves you princess.’