**Warning: This story contains details some people may find deeply upsetting**

Further details have emerged surrounding the death of a 12-year-old girl who suffered from a head lice infestation so severe it triggered a cardiac arrest.

Per The New York Times, Kaitlyn Yozviak, 12, died at her family home in rural Georgia on August 26 last year.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Special Agent Ryan Hilton testified back in September that medical records determined that Kaitlyn died from cardiac arrest with a secondary cause being severe anemia.

Brent Cochran - the senior assistant district attorney for the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit, which covers Kaitlyn's hometown of Ivey - said that her death was the result of repeated lice bites that lowered her blood iron levels.

More on this heartbreaking story below:

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Mr. Cochran added that the lice had been a "problem for three years on an on-again, off-again basis".

The Times states that "the unusual conclusion that lice could have killed a child raised doubts among some doctors and scientists", but that the GBI has testified that the infestation was enough to kill her.

Speaking to 13WMAZ, Dr Nancy Hinkle said that "severe anemia produced from severe louse infestations is not unheard of - this does happen - and typically it is in young children or in the elderly."

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Meanwhile, other experts are skeptical over Kaitlyn's death being the result of head lice, with Dr Alejandra Perotti stating: "That lice would kill you is an exaggeration."

Perotti adds: "A severe louse infestation on a person who died typically coincides with serious neglect and as a consequence of this neglect, a general deteriorating health condition."

Prosecutors are still waiting on autopsy results and medical results.

[[imagecaption|| Credit: Wilkinson County Sheriffs Office]]

Kaitlyn's parents, Mary Katherine "Katie" Horton and John Joseph Joey Yozviak, were both arrested and charged with child cruelty and second-degree murder (as a result of negligence).

Per The Sun, this week they were both granted $100,000 bail, but both remain in jail.

Kaitlyn found with no bruises on her body and was not malnourished, but the court heard how the child had not bathed for a week before her death and was forced to live in a "very unclean" home.

Kaitlyn's teachers speak out about the "sweet girl":

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Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFSC) documents show that Kaitlyn's two brothers were later removed from the family home as a result of the unsanitary conditions, The Sun reports.

The heartbreaking case has highlighted fears about how the ongoing pandemic is leading to neglected children being cut off from individuals who would otherwise be able to report cases.

Tom Rawlings, the director of the State Division of Family and Children Services, revealed that the number of calls about possible abuse cases has dropped by 50% since schools shut down in March.

Per The Times, Rawlings said: "One of the biggest fears that I and other child welfare folks around the country have is this kind of case."

Horton's lawyer declined to comment back in September, but Yozviak's lawyer, Keri Foster Thompson, said the father was innocent and "devastated and heartbroken".

"The evidence will ultimately show that Mr. Yozviak was a loving and devoted father," she added.

Girl, 12, died of cardiac arrest after suffering 'severe head lice infestation', Georgia Bureau of Investigation say