3 charged with neglect after 12-year-old girl died from infection turned septic

INDIANAPOLIS — Three people are facing felony neglect charges after a 12-year-old Indianapolis girl died from an infection on her back that police say was caused by not being cleaned by caretakers.

Court documents show the 12-year-old girl, Rosa Hargrave, and four other children under the age of six were living in a home infested with rodents, feces, bugs and rotten food.

Rosa Hargrave was described by her parents as being autistic and nonverbal, according to court documents. She attended Indianapolis Public School #28.

Rosa died on March 2 at 4:21 pm.

According to her obituary, Rosa "May May" Hargrave was a "girly girl that loved everything pink."

Infection

According to court documents, Rosa's mother brought her to the Riley Children's Hospital on Feb. 28, with concerns about a wound on her back.

Police were notified after being contacted by a Department of Child Services (DCS) worker who told them Rosa was currently in critical condition and likely to die from her injuries due to the wound being infected. They also advised police that Rosa had not eaten for four to five days.

DCS said the wound was from a skin graft done a year ago that was supposed to be cleaned daily.

"It is clear the wound was not cleaned or managed properly," court docs said. "Rosa is now septic due to the infection and untreated wound"

DCS also said that Rosa's mother had not taken Rosa to receive medical care until they took her to the ER. Rosa's mother told the DCS worker that she brought the child in after she complained of back pain and she saw the wound on her back was "oozing."

According to court docs, police learned that Rosa was last seen at Riley for a skin grafting in December 2020. The open wounds on her back were around where she had the skin grafting completed. Rosa was supposed to receive follow-up care from Community Health Network, but she had stopped going a year ago.

Rosa's Death

When Rosa arrived to the ER, she immediately began to vomit blood, before going unresponsive, court documents show.

She was pronounced dead by the hospital on March 2.

An autopsy by Marion County Coroner's Office revealed the cause to be sepsis due to infection. Rosa's death was also ruled a homicide.

The Mother, Rosa Hargrave

IMPD began an investigation after being alerted by the DCS worker on March 1. It began with interviewing Rosa's 34-year-old mother, also named Rosa Hargrave.

According to court docs, the mother told police that Rosa's initial skin graft happened after Rosa's gallbladder erupted several years ago. She said a procedure caused an infection that lead to the skin grafting. She also stated that Rosa had received her follow-up care and the skin grafting was completely healed by the middle of the year in 2022.

However, the autopsy after Rosa's death revealed that her appendix and not her gallbladder had been removed.

Rosa's mother also told police that Rosa was not able to bath herself, therefore she and her mother, Gail Hargrave would bathe Rosa daily.

Police spoke to Rosa's biological father's mother, who told them she watched Rosa every other weekend and was concerned about her hygiene. She stated Rosa often had foul-smelling body odor and observed lice in Rosa's hair, leading her to believe she was not being bathed for some time.

Rosa's mother also said she did not notice anything out of the ordinary with her daughter until she complained of back pain.

However, a Riley Hospital doctor stated that the symptoms of Rosa's injury would have been present for several days and there was "significant concern for neglect with Rosa's injury."

The home

On March 1, IMPD obtained a search warrant for the Hargrave's home on the near east side.

Court documents show the home was in "extremely poor and unsanitary condition."

Police observed numerous health hazards including:

• mice
• rodents
• cockroaches
• bugs
• feces
• rotten food
• dead mice, and mouse body parts

Police said the mice in the home appeared to be "unafraid of any human interaction" and observed a "malodorous" smell that appeared toxic for humans and animals.
Police found two large refrigerators containing feces, bugs and spoiled food, as well as bugs, cockroaches and feces on the kitchen countertops and pans.

Rosa's room was located on the first floor in the back of the house. A bathroom was connected to her room but there was no running water. Police also observed medical supplies in Rosa's room but said it appeared to be feces on and inside the gauze pad box.

Other children

Police also found four other children in the home all under the age of six.

The children were medically evaluated and observed having bug/mouse bites and rashes on their bodies, dirt, and bruises on their faces. One child had a heavily soiled diaper. Police said the children had trouble communicating and were believed to be malnourished and dehydrated.

Two of the children were determined to be Rosa's mother and her boyfriend, Charles Turner's. The other two children belonged to Rosa's aunt, Felicia Hargrave.

The boyfriend, Charles Turner

Police interviewed Rosa's mother's boyfriend Charles Turner on March 2. Turner told police he had been with Rosa's mother for around 10 years and lived in the house for 5 or 6 years.

Turner told police he does not bathe Rosa or change her diaper. He said he didn't observe anything wrong with Rosa, only that she started to lay around three days before going to the hospital. He said he believed she had a cold.

When asked about the mice and bugs in the house, Turner told police they had only been there for around three days.

The aunt, Felicia Hargrave

Police interviewed Rosa's aunt, Felicia Hargrave, who also lived in the house with her two children.

Felicia told police that she had last given Rosa a bath on February 21 and her back was completely normal.

Felicia also told police that she didn't notice anything wrong with Rosa until February 28, when Rosa pointed to her back and yelled "I'm hurt, I'm hurt!" Felicia said she then lifted Rosa's shirt and saw her back was draining an unknown substance. She then called Rosa's primary care doctor, who advised them to go to the hospital.

Further Investigation

IMPD spoke with other adults in Rosa's life and learned that Rosa had once showed up to her biological father's house with bed bugs and a dead cockroach in her backpack and often smelled of urine.

A review of Rosa's medical records revealed that she had a history of skin infections with a delay in medical care.

One doctor stated that Rosa's family should have had more knowledge on skin infections and wounds "based on Rosa's prior medical history."

Court docs show, the doctor also told police that there were likely obvious signs of infection such as:

• fever
• lack of appetite
• fatigue
• altered mental status.

Finally, he stated that the sooner medical intervention was sought, the more likely Rosa could have survived the infection.
Arrests

Following the investigation, 34-year-old Rosa D. Hargrave, 31-year-old Felicia L. Hargrave and 56-year-old Charles A Turner were arrested on April 12 for their role in Rosa's death.

All three adults were charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury, a level 5 felony. The mother, Rosa D. Hargrave was also charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a level 1 felony.