INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man and woman have been convicted for their roles in the death of the woman’s 8-year-old daughter, announced the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
After a three-day trial, Derrick Dale was found guilty of aggravated battery resulting in death, neglect of a dependent resulting in a death, and battery resulting in serious bodily injury to a person less than 14 years old.
The girl’s mother, Kimberly Grosklos, pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in death. She was sentenced to 20 years in the Indiana Department of Correction earlier this month.
The prosecutor’s office says the couple’s daughter was in a state of cardiac arrest when first responders were called to their home in the 11000 block of Kirkwood Drive on April 6, 2020. She died at the hospital.
Investigators determined the girl was choked and beaten with objects like jumper cables in the weeks before her death.
As we reported in 2020, a probable cause affidavit showed the girl was found in the bathtub. Dale told police he thought the girl tried to drown herself, but no water was found in her lungs during an autopsy.
Her cause of death was ruled as mixed modality trauma including but not limited to multiple blunt force trauma injuries. “All traumatic injuries were consistent with non-accidental trauma, that is child abuse,” said the prosecutor’s office in a statement.
“The abuse this child sustained is horrific and has no place in our society,” Prosecutor Mears stated. “While this resolution brings justice for the victim, we understand that her siblings need our continued focus and support, as they navigate this tragic adversity at such young ages.”
A sentencing hearing for Dale has been set for next month.
