GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas – The Galveston County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Friday that the death of a 4-year-old Galveston County girl, who officials originally said died due to COVID-19, has now been ruled undetermined by medical examiners.
Assistant district attorney at Galveston County’s DA’s Office, Kevin Petroff, said they do not anticipate criminal charges being filed and the case is now closed.
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The news comes months after officials originally claimed the little girl, named Kali Cook, was the first child-related COVID-19 death in the county.
The next day, officials from the Galveston County Health District and the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office said they would not confirm if Kali’s death was related to COVID-19 until the autopsy was completed.
Back in September, KPRC 2 reached out to the county’s medical examiner to determine why a cause of death was confirmed before the autopsy was complete, but no definite answer was provided.
On Friday, Cook’s cause of death was ruled “undetermined,” and Medical Examiners said she did not die from COVID-19.
4 year old Galveston County girl did not die from COVID. **Update**
Posted by KPRC2 Robert Arnold on Friday, November 19, 2021
In September, Kali’s mother spoke with KPRC 2 and warned other parents to take the virus seriously after her daughter’s death.
Kali’s mother, Karra Harwood, said the little girl tested positive for COVID, and within a day, she passed away in her sleep.
Harwood said she also tested positive for COVID-19 and her other children as well.
“I just wanted everybody to know that it happened so fast,” Harwood said. “By 2 a.m. [Kali] started to run a fever. My mom came down and asked my fiancee if he could help her take some medicine. We gave her some medicine, and by 7 a.m., she was gone.”
KPRC 2 reached out to the judge’s office for comment but has not heard back as of Friday evening.