4-year-old ‘suffered for a majority of her short life,’ prosecutor says

CLERMONT COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) - The biological parents of a 4-year-old girl “denied her proper nutrition and medical care, which ultimately led to her death,” according to Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve.

Tamara Banks and Christopher Hoeb were indicted for murder, involuntary manslaughter, and two counts of child endangering, a news release said.

Banks and Hoeb, the girl’s sole caretakers, found her unresponsive on January 21, 2022, and called 911, according to the release.

The prosecutor’s office says medics were able to revive the 4-year-old but she remained unresponsive.

Tekulve says she was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and was ultimately determined to be brain dead.

The girl, referred to as K.H. in the press release from the prosecutor’s office, was taken off life support on January 24, 2022, and passed away.

“Due to the neglect and abuse by her parents, K.H. suffered for a majority of her short life,” Tekulve said.

He says Banks and Hoeb fed the 4-year-old mostly Mountain Dew through a baby bottle and, as a result, her teeth rotted and she had almost none left.

The coroner ruled her cause of death as diabetic ketoacidosis.

“Essentially, K.H. had diabetes that was left undiagnosed and untreated over a long period of time.” the prosecutor said.

Both Banks and Hoeb are in the Clermont County Jail.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2023 WXIX. All rights reserved.