Post Falls Toddler’s Death Ruled Homicide

SPOKANE– The Spokane Medical Examiner’s Office ruled this week that the death of a Post Falls toddler who was in the care of a foster family earlier this year was a homicide.

Karina Moore died at Sacred Heart Medical Center 10 days after she had been taken there in a coma with life-threatening injuries. Her injuries and coma were brought on as a result of what her foster family called a tragic accident in which they claimed she fell down a short flight of carpeted stairs at their Post Falls home.

The blunt force trauma she suffered caused her to lapse into a coma from which she never recovered.

On the death certificate Karina’s immediate cause of death was listed as “Blunt force head injuries,” but the certificate, amended by the medical examiner on March 5th, changed the manner of death to homicide with “injuries inflicted by another person / persons.”

Karina had been living with the foster family since last November. An unspecific number of other foster children living in the household were removed after Karina was taken from the home.

Samantha Moore, Karina’s biological mother, had said from the beginning of the investigation into her daughter’s death that it hadn’t been an accident. She added that she reported to the Idaho Department of Welfare on several occasions suspicious bruises and scrapes on her daughter face and neck.

“This could’ve been prevented … this could’ve been prevented,” Samantha Moore said in January.

When the the foster mother was contacted in January she appeared visibly upset over Karina’s injuries. She maintained that Karina had woken up around midnight and tumbled down a short flight of stairs. The woman claims she performed CPR on Karina until emergency responders arrived and flew her to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

The family has reportedly been cooperating with detectives from the Post Falls Police Department investigating Karina’s death.