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9 charged in starvation death of disabled teen

PHILADELPHIA — The parents of a disabled teen who wasted away from neglect, and four social workers assigned to monitor her well-being, were charged Thursday in the girl's starvation death.

Authorities also charged three family friends who they say lied about the horrific suffering of Danieal Kelly, 14, whose 42-pound body was found in her mother's squalid house covered with bone-deep, maggot-infested bedsores in August 2006.

In a 258-page grand jury report recommending the charges, District Attorney Lynne Abraham assailed the city's Department of Human Services, calling the agency's handling of the case "callous, indifferent, unconscionable" — and all too familiar.

"Danieal did not fall through the cracks," Abraham said. "Saving Danieal was just too much trouble."

Warrants were issued for all nine defendants Thursday. Andrea Kelly, the mother of Danieal, was charged with murder and father Daniel Kelly, who did not live with the family, was charged with child endangerment.

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