A young life ended after an unsecured handgun in an Indianapolis apartment led to a fatal accident on New Year’s Eve. Five-year-old D’asia Turentine, a Black female, was at home with her three-year-old brother when their mother, 23-year-old Asia Turentine, returned, placed her purse containing a handgun on the bed, and put the children down for a nap. Asia fell asleep on a couch in another room; a gunshot later rang out and the boy had found the gun and accidentally shot his older sister in the head.

D’asia was taken to the hospital and died on January 2, 2017. Prosecutors charged Asia Turentine with two felony counts of neglect of a dependent; she told investigators she believed the gun’s safety was engaged. She ultimately pleaded guilty to child neglect and in July 2017 received a four-year suspended sentence and one year of probation.

Who knew D’asia or has information about how the family was caring for the children before that day?