Women charged in young girl's death

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.-Two northwest Arkansas women have been charged with homicide in what prosecutors say is the drug-related death of a juvenile girl.

Court documents show 57-year-old Joanne Hostetter and 27-year-old Melissa Cramer, both of Farmington, were charged Tuesday with misdemeanor negligent homicide and felony endangering the welfare of a
minor.

The documents identify the girl only by the initials J.A. and say she was younger than 10 when she died March 5.

Hostetter is described as the girl's grandmother and guardian and Cramer as her aunt and caregiver.

Both women pleaded not
guilty.

The documents say the girl died after ingesting medication that Hostetter and Cramer left accessible to her, rather than storing it in a locked safe.

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