DETROIT – The loved ones of a 14-year-old special needs girl, whose mother faces murder and child abuse charges, call the woman they once trusted to care for the teen “rotten” and “pure evil.”
The family of 14-year-old Kylee Clark said losing her has been unbearable, but the long wait for charges and the uncertainty surrounding what really happened have been even harder to bear.
They said they are desperate to uncover the truth about what happened to Kylee on July 7, 2025. The teen was pronounced dead five days later, on July 12, at Henry Ford St. John Hospital.
Kylee was still alive when she was brought to the hospital, and they had to remove a portion of her skull due to the swelling.
The family had Kylee on life support for several days. She never woke up.
Kylee’s mother, Vangie Averhart, 37, of Ferndale, has been charged with murder and first-degree child abuse in connection with Kylee’s death.
“Kylee’s mother lied right from the get-go about pretty much everything. She’s just rotten,” said Kylee’s great-uncle, Jeffrey Clark. “I mean, it’s her own flesh and blood.”
Clark said the family has known from the beginning that the explanations they were given didn’t add up. They also said they noticed things “didn’t seem right” months before.
Kylee, who was autistic, nonverbal and diagnosed with Cornelia de Lange syndrome, relied entirely on caregivers, according to her family. She was small for her age and weighed about 60 lbs.
“She was just a happy little girl — she loved the simple things,” Clark said. “She was always smiling.”
Clark told Local 4 that Kylee’s father had been trying to obtain custody over the summer and had grown increasingly worried about Kylee’s well-being.
“This happened right after he informed [Vangie] of that,” Clark said. “[Vangie] said, ‘You can have her. I don’t want her.’”
The family said the mother’s account of what happened shifted multiple times. At first, she reportedly told police that Kylee died by choking on a sandwich.
“Then she changed it to a banana, and then she blamed it on her boyfriend,” Clark said. “I mean, we don’t even really know if this really happened in Detroit because she lives in Ferndale.”
Kylee’s family later learned that the non-verbal teen had been living in a locked room, and the injuries to the back of her head were so severe that they resembled those from a serious car crash.
Records show Kylee died from severe blunt-force trauma to her head.
“It’s hard to fathom,” Clark said. “I don’t know if that’s some kind of vindictive thing on her part or if she’s just pure evil.”
Clark said he’s worried he and Kylee’s family may never know the full truth about what happened to Kylee, or how long she may have suffered -- calling her “a bright light” on this Earth.
Vangie Averhart faces up to life in prison. Her next court date is Nov. 26, 2025.