COLUMBUS, Ohio — A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the estate of Darnell Taylor, a 5-year-old boy who was killed earlier this year.
Darnell was under the care of his temporary legal guardian, Pammy Maye, when she left her home with him early in the morning on Feb. 14. Police had received a 911 call from a man claiming that his wife told him that "she had just killed our foster child." A statewide Amber Alert was sent out and Maye was eventually found walking around a building in Brooklyn, Ohio.
Darnell’s body was discovered two days later in a sewage drain in Columbus after detectives interviewed Pammy. You can read a full recap of what happened at the end of this article.
The lawsuit filed last week in Franklin County Common Pleas Court names 13 employees of Buckeye Ranch, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, the Board of Trustees and executive director for Franklin County Children Services, Pammy, her husband and several others listed as “John Doe” as the defendants. The lawsuit was brought forward by the appointed administrator of Darnell’s estate.
The document alleges that Darnell suffered “unconscionable abuse both physical and psychological at the hands of his Kinship Caretakers, Defendant Pammy and Antawon Jabrell Maye.”
“Five-year-old Darnell was brutally killed while others responsible for his care either looked away or looked and did nothing,” the document states.
The lawsuit seeks to hold accountable “individuals, professional and private agencies charged with reporting abuse, and providing necessary services to Darnell and the family, who were significantly professionally negligent.” It also asks for remedies for his harm and losses by seeking compensatory, exemplary and punitive damages.
A timeline in the lawsuit lays out who took custody of Darnell since his birth in 2019 and his care during that time. The lawsuit says both of his biological parents were “diagnosed as special needs adults.”
Below is a quick rundown of events according to the court document.
FCCS assigned Darnell to Buckeye Ranch immediately after his birth on Jan. 18, 2019. Buckeye Ranch provides child welfare services on behalf of children who are in the care and custody of FCCS.
FCCS took emergency custody of Darnell on March 24, 2022 after a physical abuse/neglect referral that was substantiated. The juvenile court granted temporary custody to children services one day later.
Children Services then assigned responsibility for the child welfare services of Darnell to Buckeye Ranch. FCCS placed Darnell with his paternal grandparents through the Kinship Support Program.
On Feb. 9, 2023, the court appointed an attorney as Guardian Ad Litem over Darnell.
On March 13, 2023, FCCS and Buckeye Ranch, through legal counsel, filed a motion to terminate temporary custody and moved for legal custody to be granted to the paternal grandparents.
On March 15, the grandparents signed a “statement of understanding of prospective legal custodian.” The next day, the attorney appointed to Darnell represented to the court and defendants, Buckeye Ranch and FCCS, that Darnell had developmental disabilities, including diminished mental and physical capabilities that caused him to fall. He included that Darnell would need to be fitted with braces to his legs, had behavioral issues and is too young to articulate his wishes.
A Buckeye Ranch employee reported in a semi-annual review that Darnell was aggressive toward peers and caregivers and cussed. He also was in the process of being linked to physical, speech and occupational therapy. A month later, a conference call between the grandmother and kinship coordinator at Buckeye Ranch indicated that the grandparents would not be able to take legal custody of Darnell due to his cussing, destruction of property and outbursts.
The attorney represented that the grandparents are no longer able to care for Darnell and a friend may be better equipped to handle his care. On May 9, 2023, temporary custody was granted to the Mayes.
A caseworker would begin to make monthly contact and visitation with each parent, child and kinship placement.
The lawsuit says an “alleged home study was completed at this time as well” to allow custody to change to the Mayes. A home study and risk assessment were conducted on Pammy’s husband. It was approved though it’s unknown, according to the lawsuit, whether the same documents were completed for Pammy.
About two months after the Mayes took custody, a caseworker with Buckeye Ranch met with the biological mother who reported that the Mayes had not answered phone calls or returned voicemails from her or communicated with the maternal and paternal grandparents and biological father. The employee then stopped by the Mayes' home for an unannounced visit and no one answered the door.
When later questioned about the phone calls, Pammy admitted to blocking every phone number of Darnell’s biological family and the caseworker and not allowing for visitation despite a court order requiring it.
On the day of the visit, another caseworker reviewed the case and reported no real concerns and reportedly determined that legal custody should be given to the Mayes.
Another unannounced visit was made in August with no response at the door, according to the lawsuit. The caseworker called Pammy's husband who had to call Pammy and tell her to open the door. Pammy had told the caseworker that there had been a visitation with his biological family, according to the lawsuit. Darnell still was not fitted with braces or making his appointments at that time, the lawsuit alleges.
In September, the biological family expressed concerns about Darnell failing to make his occupational therapy appointments.
Another unannounced visit was done on Sept. 13, 2023 where the caseworker allegedly reiterated to the husband the importance of Darnell making his appointments and seeing his biological family.
Another review of his case was done and the caseworker determined that Darnell was doing well and behaviors had improved.
The lawsuit says, “despite multiple red flags” the defendants recommended legal custody and closed out the file. The caseworker allegedly met with the biological mother alone and talked about visitation and asked the mother to sign a closing case plan amendment a few days later.
The grandparents then filed a “grandparents’ rights” motion in the juvenile court in November 2023 to have visitation with Darnell.
In December, another unannounced visit was done and Pammy's husband told the caseworker that Darnell has not been meeting with his family and had not been fitted for braces or been to doctors’ appointments.
This allegedly continues into the new year.
In early January, after the biological family made numerous statements of not seeing Darnell, the caseworker stopped by for an unannounced visit in January 2024. No one reportedly answered the door. Two more attempts were made and still no answer, the lawsuit says.
According to the lawsuit, a determination was made that the last visit he had with his biological family had been in September 2023. The lawsuit says that the maternal grandmother had tried to contact the Mayes and she made at least 31 calls between June 2023 and February 2024 — all of which went unanswered.
10TV reached out to Franklin County Commissioners and Buckeye Ranch for comment but has not yet heard back.
While Franklin County Children Services says they cannot comment on the specifics of the litigation involving Darnell's estate, they responded with the following statement:
"The death of a child who has a connection with our agency has a tremendous impact on everyone at FCCS. Darnell’s case was no different.
Please note that anytime there is a child fatality within a family who’s in our agency’s care, our team takes immediate and thoughtful action to address any urgent safety needs for other children in the family as well as taking a more holistically look at the child welfare safety-net system. We are often reminded that keeping children safer requires our entire community working together. This also allow us to continue to push our systems to do better for both the youth and families we serve.
When a child can no longer safely stay with a parent, our caseworkers work very hard to locate a relative or family friend who is able to safely care for the child in an environment that is familiar and connected. When possible and appropriate, placing a child with a family member or family friend typically begins with the agency engaging the closest members of the biological family - parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles - to identify a potential custodian. If someone identified by family expresses an interest in taking on the responsibilities of supporting and raising a child, a home study, background checks, and interview would be conducted. The final decision regarding custody rests with the courts.
We appreciate all who join us in continuing to hold Darnell and his family in their thoughts and hearts."
The agency says they are continuing to work with law enforcement, prosecutors and contracted partners.
Timeline of Pammy Maye's arrest
In the early morning hours of Feb. 14, police received a call from a man claiming his wife told him that "she had just killed our foster child." A woman could be heard screaming during part of the call. Police identified the woman as Pammy.
The man told police that Pammy and the child left the residence. Authorities were searching for a Jeep Cherokee in which Pammy reportedly drove away. They later found it in the Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn, Ohio.
A day after their disappearance, Brooklyn police officers were called to a business on Tiedeman Road after receiving a report of a woman walking suspiciously around the building. Officers identified the woman as Pammy and took her into custody without incident.
After interviewing Pammy, detectives learned that Darnell’s body might have been placed in a sewage drain on Marsdale Avenue in Franklin County. Authorities later found his body there.
She pleaded not guilty in March to charges of aggravated murder, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse in connection with Darnell’s death.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office determined in June that Darnell’s cause of death was “asphyxia by smothering with cervical neck compression.”
Police body-camera video released in April shows the moments when Pammy confessed to detectives about killing Darnell.
Pammy has pleaded not guilty and her attorney, Sam Shamansky, said she was competent to stand trial. According to Shamansky, Pammy will likely change her plea to not guilty by insanity.