Sad details of the life of the seven-year-old Toronto girl - found murdered in an apartment more than a week ago - have emerged and they are not pleasant. But they are details none of us should forget if society wants to prevent a similar tragedy.

Bernice Sampson, a drug addict apparently unable to manage her condition, turned over custody of her daughter to family friend Donna Irving - the woman now charged with killing Katelynn. Irving's common-law partner, Warren Johnson, also faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with the little girl's death.

Unbelievably, it appears that Irving was able to gain "full and final custody" of Katelynn this past January without the involvement of any child and family services agency and without a background check on Irving, who had a trio of criminal convictions. A simple application to family court was enough to shuffle this little girl from one unhealthy environment to another.

Homicide Det.-Sgt. Steve Ryan said it was "probably the worst thing I've seen in 20 years of policing" when describing the youngster's body.

Police say the nature and severity of Katelynn's injuries resulted in a longer than expected autopsy and that some of her injuries were not "fresh."

Through court records and other accounts, it appears Katelynn's life was a living hell. Her mother was a drug addict. Her father was a drug addict and out of the picture. She was sent to live with Irving who has had three criminal convictions since 1999: assault with a weapon, possession of cocaine and communicating for the purpose of prostitution.

How could this happen in Ontario today? Who is responsible?

In some instances, there are more checks and balances in place for people to adopt an animal than there were for Katelynn, who was moved from one disaster-in-waiting to another.

Already, rumblings of an inquest have surfaced but it will have to wait for a resolution to the criminal case in this matter, which will take years.

There appears to be a legal loophole that needs plugging immediately by our provincial politicians - before there is another Katelynn.

We can't let this child slip through the cracks in death as she did in life.