GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Aaliyah Fortner, the 23-year-old nonverbal woman who was killed in a Gaston County group home, died of malnutrition, according to her autopsy report.
The report said Fortner lost more than 40% of her weight in the six months before she died last October. She weighed just 84 pounds. The report also said there were signs of blunt force trauma to her head, torso, and arms and legs.
The medical examiner determined she died of complications from malnutrition and deemed that a homicide. The operator of the group home, Marlo Wallace, is now charged with first-degree murder.
According to the report, Wallace also left a suicide note after calling 911 to report a dead body in the home.
Channel 9’s Ken Lemon spoke to Fortner’s former guardian, Glenda Watkins, Thursday. She was heartbroken when she read the eight-page autopsy report.
“I just loved to watch her eat,” Watkins said. “To know that baby was there starving, it was despicable.”
Watkins said what frustrates her most is that she made the call to send Fortner to the group home in Gaston County.
Tune in to Eyewitness News at 5 for Lemon’s full report and check back with wsoctv.com for updates.
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