A Hawaii island grand jury has indicted a Waimea woman on a charge of second-degree murder in the 2017 death of a 3-year-old boy while under the temporary foster care of the woman and her husband.

Chasity Alcosiba-McKenzie was arraigned Thursday in 3rd Circuit Court and appeared before Judge Melvin Fujino, who reduced her bail amount to $10,000 from $500,000.

The boy, Fabian Garett- Garcia, died July 25, 2017. The coroner found on March 3, 2018, that he died of nonaccidental blunt-force trauma to the head.

Emergency room doctors found Garett-Garcia had bleeding in both eyes and bruising on his forehead and around his eyes, cheeks, chin, right forearm, left shoulder and flank.

Police and fire personnel found the boy’s body lying in vomit on a bed in the McKenzie home. EMS records show he had various stages of bruising on his head, neck and body, older bruises on his left shoulder and vomit in his throat.

Police initially arrested Alcosiba-McKenzie on Aug. 16, 2018, but she was not charged and was released.

The indictment alleges Alcosiba-McKenzie voluntarily omitted performing a duty to support the 3-year-old.

She was present at the scene of the crime, knew the child was suffering from serious physical harm and could have reasonably gotten needed medical services, and thereby committed second-degree murder, the indictment said.

The indictment says Alcosiba-McKenzie is subject to a minimum mandatory sentencing of 15 years’ imprisonment without parole due to the child’s young age, in accordance with state law.

A jury trial is set for Jan. 7 in Kailua-Kona.

Alcosiba-McKenzie’s husband is Clifton McKenzie.

The boy’s parents, Sherri- Ann Garett and Juben Garcia, filed a lawsuit April 4 against the two formerly licensed caregivers, the state, the Department of Human Services and Catholic Charities Hawaii.

Garett-Garcia’s younger siblings, who were also in the McKenzies’ care, were placed in a different foster home, and two months later in September 2017 were returned to their parents.

The McKenzies told fire personnel the 3-year-old’s bruises were from a 3-foot fall two weeks earlier while wearing virtual-reality goggles, the complaint said.

But the caregivers told DHS social workers the injuries happened that day, the lawsuit alleges.

The mother reported her 3-year-old son complained that Alcosiba-McKenzie pinched his private parts. She also discovered injuries and learned of pain to another son’s scrotum, penis and neck.

“I think the foster care system, as it relates to Fabian Garett-Garcia and how it failed the family, will be coming to light, and the indictment is quite telling,” Jeffrey Foster, attorney representing the parents, said. “His death could have been prevented had the state or Catholic Charities done what they were supposed to do under the law and their own rules and policies and procedures.”

The court awarded foster custody of the children to DHS in July 2016 because the parents were not complying with its service plan to remedy concerns over substance abuse and dangerous living conditions on their property, a court document showed.