Judge sentences mother to 30 years in death of her 12-year-old daughter

A Wilkinson County woman pleaded guilty to a charge of murder in the second-degree involving the death of her 12-year-old daughter following a more than three-hour hearing Monday.

Mary Katherine “Katie” Horton was later sentenced to 30 years in prison with the first 10 of those years to be served in prison, followed by the remaining 20 years on probation.

Two other charges, both of which were related to cruelty to children, were dropped as they merged with count one on a charge of murder in the second degree to which Horton pleaded guilty to in Wilkinson County Superior Court in Irwinton.

Horton’s guilty plea stemmed from the 2020 death of her daughter, Kaitlyn Michelle Yozviak, whose hair at the time was covered in lice.

Horton called 911 when she discovered her daughter unresponsive at the family residence in Ivey. Kaitlyn was treated at the scene by first responders and then rushed by ambulance to Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin hospital in Milledgeville, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.

An autopsy was performed at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Laboratory in Decatur, but an associate medical examiner was never able to determine an exact cause of death. It was ruled “undetermined.”

Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge

Amanda S. Petty handed down the sentence following a summary of the facts of the case as presented by Assistant District Attorney Brent Cochran.

Horton, clad in a bright orange jumpsuit, appeared at the hearing with her attorney, Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Assistant Public Defender Leonard D. Myers. On several occasions, she wiped tears from her eyes with a tissue while she was seated in a chair and handcuffed.

Prior to Petty rendering sentencing in the case against Horton, Myers asked the the judge to consider writing in a transition center.

“That’s not something that the DOC (Georgia Department of Corrections) has to listen to; generally they don’t, but we always asked that it be there, especially if it’s a considerable time of confinement,” Myers said. “I don’t even know if this case is eligible for a transition center.”

Cochran, meanwhile, said he wasn’t sure how effective such was.

“I have never talked to anybody at DOC who understands why — I mean I know why defense attorneys asked for that — but I don’t understand why we put that in there, but I’ll leave that up to the court,” Cochran said.

Earlier, he also asked Petty to consider sentencing his client under the Georgia First Offender Act since she had no prior arrests or convictions.

Prior to sentencing, Petty informed Horton that she had worked in the Juvenile Court for several years and worked with a number of families.

“As a mother, there is absolutely no punishment that I can give you worse than what you will have to live with,” Petty said. “And Mr. Myers was absolutely correct in his statement to me. You are the parent and you bare the ultimate responsibility when God gives you a child to protect at all cost, and you did not do that. There are a lot of things that played into this. There are a lot of safeguards that our society puts in place that may could have stepped in and assisted Kaitlyn, but ultimately it was not their responsibility. It was yours and your husband’s. And for that I can’t make right. I can’t make anybody whole. Kaitlyn is gone and nothing I say or do or that you say or do will bring her back.”

Petty said what she would say is that there doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut answer as to what ultimately led to Kaitlyn’s death.

The judge told Horton there was no doubt that her home was in horrible sanitary condition.

“And you and your daughter both suffered from lice, but Kaitlyn was unclean and not being kept the way a 12-yearold should,” Petty said.

As parents, Petty told Horton that she and her husband should have known their child was sick.

“COVID or not, you had a duty to protect that child, and didn’t do it, and that’s why we find ourselves here today,” Petty said. “You’ve accepted responsibility by entering a plea.”

Horton’s husband, who is a co-defendant in the case, remains jailed and is awaiting trial in February.