INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis child is believed to have died from sepsis after police say her three caretakers did not clean an infection on her back.
Rosa Hargrave, 12, was living in a house that was infested with rodents, feces, bugs and rotten food, court documents state.
Rosa, whose family says she went by "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.
According to the spokesperson, May May’s father’s side of the family tried to get help from DCS.
A report filed in 2017 shows a caseworker reported that May May and her brother were in danger at her mother’s home.
The document cites her mother, also named Rosa Hargrave, failed to provide her children with a safe, sanitary and appropriate living environment with necessary care.
However, May May was placed back into the home.
Court documents state May May’s father, Andrew, did not show ability and willingness to appropriately parent.
"Because Andrew has a mental condition himself, they wouldn't deem him fit to take her," the spokesperson said. “I don’t understand how they could go over there and still leave her there knowing it was that bad. I don’t understand."
WRTV reached out to DCS for comments regarding this case and the 2017 incident. They provided this statement:
Indiana confidentiality laws prohibit us from commenting on DCS involvement with a family, even to confirm or deny involvement.
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.
Following the investigation, 34-year-old Rosa Hargrave, 31-year-old Felicia Hargrave and 56-year-old Charles Turner were arrested for their role in May May's death.
All three adults were charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury, a level 5 felony. Rosa Hargrave was also charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a level 1 felony.
