Mother charged with murder of 8-year-old daughter; boyfriend charged with neglect
CUMBERLAND, Ind. (WISH) — A 32-year-old Cumberland mother was charged Wednesday with the murder of her 8-year-old daughter, the Marion County prosecutor said.
Kimberly Grosklos was also charged with aggravated battery, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, and battery resulting in serious bodily injury.
Her boyfriend Derrick Dale lived with Grosklos and the child in a Cumberland apartment. The 29-year-old man was charged as a co-defendant with neglect of a dependent resulting in death.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Cumberland Police Department was called about 4:20 p.m. April 6 to assist an emergency medical crew with an unresponsive 8-year-old girl at Grosklos’ apartment in the 11500 block of Kirkwood Drive. That’s in The Arbors at Cumberland apartments.
Grosklos and Dale told authorities the child was found unconscious in the bathtub and moved to a bedroom where they attempted CPR. Gronklos and Dale also admitted to not calling 911 immediately after locating the child unresponsive in the tub.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release, “The child was transported to the hospital where she died a short time later. Investigators were informed the child had sustained extensive recent injuries to her body that were constituent with abuse.”
An autopsy showed severe trauma to multiple areas of the girl’s body, and the cause of death was determined to be nonaccidental trauma and suffocation. Significant hemorrhaging and extensive bruising was believed to be consistent with being whipped by an object, the release said. The autopsy also showed the injuries could have been sustained by a vehicle’s jumper cables, and a search of the apartment found jumper cables in the master bedroom closet.
In the release, Prosecutor Ryan Mears noted the risk to children during the COVID-19 pandemic. “During this quarantine period with schools closed, many of the traditional safety-nets for discovering and reporting child abuse are absent. It is imperative now more than ever that we remain cognizant of the most vulnerable members of our communities, especially children. If you see, hear, or suspect abuse or neglect, you have a responsibility to report it,” he said.
Dale was being held in the Marion County on a $100,000 bond.
Grosklos was not listed in online jail records, but in an initial court hearing Wednesday with Dale, she was to be held without bond.
The two were scheduled for a June 15 jury trial in Marion Superior Court Criminal Division 6.