indictment

Mass. Foster Mom Indicted in 2015 Death of Toddler, Injury of Another

Two young girls were found unresponsive at the Auburn home of Kimberly Malpass on Aug. 15, 2015, according to the district attorney; one didn't survive

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A Massachusetts woman was indicted Tuesday in the 2015 death of her 2-year-old foster child and the injury of another of her foster children, authorities said.

Avalena Conway Coxon was found unresponsive at the Auburn home of Kimberly Malpass, her foster mother, on Aug. 15, 2015, authorities have said. Also unresponsive was a 22-month-old girl, who has not been identified -- she was in a coma for several weeks and suffered life-long injuries, according to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office.

Both children were taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, where Avalena was pronounced dead. The investigation had shown both children had signs of heatstroke.

Five years later, a Worcester County grand jury has brought indictments against Malpass, now 39, prosecutors said. with two counts of reckless endangerment of a child and one count of misleading a police investigation, according to the district attorney.

The biological mother of a child who lived in the Auburn, Massachusetts, home where a foster child recently died is now speaking out.

Malpass is expected to be arraigned at a future date in Worcester Superior Court.

It wasn't immediately clear if she had an attorney.

The biological mother of another girl who was in Malpass' care has said she gave guardianship to Malpass when she couldn't care for the child.

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