Darnell Taylor and Pammy Maye: What we know and don't know about 5-year-old boy's death
Three days after state and federal authorities issued an Amber Alert for Darnell Taylor prompting a statewide search for both Darnell and his legal custodian, Pammy Maye, authorities found the 5-year-old boy dead in a sewage drain in the 1000 block of Marsdale Avenue in southwest Columbus.
Police arrested Maye Feb. 15 in the 4000 block of Tiedeman Road in the Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn. Police officials said they are seeking to charge the 48 year old with murder, in addition to felony kidnapping and child endangerment.
Even with the resolution to Darnell's disappearance, there are still questions about whether warning signs were missed and if the system meant to protect Darnell may have failed.
Here's what we know and what we don't in the investigation.
Why was Darnell Taylor in Pammy Maye's custody?
Maye and her husband took custody of Darnell in May 2023, according to information provided by Columbus police. The Mayes gained legal custodianship of Darnell sometime between then and the day he disappeared.
Franklin County Children Services provided information to The Dispatch last week saying there was a substantiated allegation of physical abuse and/or neglect related to Darnell from March 2022, more than a year before the Mayes had custody of Darnell.
A summary report from Franklin County Children Services filed on March 24, 2022, says that the department received a referral from another agency to look into the allegations of physical abuse and/or neglect. The report doesn't disclose which agency made the referral.
Children Services did not provide The Dispatch any information about who had custody of Darnell in March 2022 or who may have been accused of abusing the toddler. Darnell had also been referred to several service agencies, including Nationwide Children's Hospital behavioral health and Kinship Care.
Kinship Care provides services for children and families who are working through FCCS as a way to ensure smooth transitions and some material or monetary assistance, depending on eligibility.
Nationwide Children's Hospital's behavioral health practices provides care and guidance for children with "emotional, behavioral or developmental problems."
"We continue to work with police investigators and prosecutors," Scott Varner, director of communications for Franklin County Children Services, said in an email to the Dispatch.
"As such, our agency will be limited in any additional release of information about Darnell’s history, his family, or his custody with the Maye family. As with the fatality of any child in our community, we will fully participate in the review of this case with the Franklin County Child Fatality Review Board."
Why are there not more public records available in Darnell's case?
Many records from children services agencies are not public, under Ohio law, as a means of protecting the children involved in the system.
Where were Darnell's biological parents?
Neither of Darnell's biological parents have spoken publicly about their son.
Darnell's biological family has been notified of his death. Maye remains in custody in Cuyahoga County, and it is unknown when she will make her first appearance in court in Franklin County.
Darnell's paternal and maternal grandparents have each declined to speak with The Dispatch. They have provided statements to other media outlets.
Shanda McGee, Darnell's maternal grandmother, told Cleveland's 19 News she had raised concerns about Maye to Darnell's caseworker on multiple occasions.
Darnell's paternal grandparents, Tawanda and Anthony Barnes, told 10TV they were taking care of Darnell at some point, but caring for him became too much. They turned to Maye, a family friend for years, to help them.
"Darnell's kind of rough. We couldn't handle him. I hate to say we couldn't handle him, but we didn't want him in the system," Anthony Barnes said.
Darnell's biological family had not seen the toddler since July, shortly after the Mayes gained legal custody. The Barnes family told 10TV Maye used to attend birthdays, cookouts and holidays but stopped answering their phone calls."We thought maybe she was keeping him from us so he can be a part of their family first, but six months… that's a long time,” Anthony said.
Did Pammy Maye had contact with police before?
According to 911 records obtained by the Dispatch, Maye's husband placed an approximately five-and-a-half-minute call to report his wife missing on Oct. 30.
Maye's husband told the dispatcher that his wife said she would be home at a certain time, but two additional hours had passed and she was not yet home. Her phone was going to voicemail when he called and other family members had not had any contact with Maye.
"I'm not sure what happened, I'm not sure what's going on with her, and I just need some help trying to find her," Maye's husband said.
The dispatcher determined Maye had no contact with police or wasn't involved in a traffic crash. A Columbus police officer was sent to the couple's Reeb Avenue home to take a missing persons report. However, there was no incident report taken from the call, indicating Maye likely made contact with police or her family.
A prelimiary report from the incident and the 911 call made by Maye's husband make no reference to Darnell.
About two weeks later, Columbus police received another call from the Maye home, involving a dispute with a neighbor over pet chickens. Again, no report was taken.
On three other occasions since May 2021, police went to the home to accompany the fire department on unspecified medical issues.
Pammy Maye had no criminal history prior to Feb. 14.
What prompted the Amber Alert for Darnell and Pammy Maye?
On the day Darnell and Maye went missing, Maye's husband called 911 at around 3 a.m. to say his wife had told him the boy was dead and he couldn't find him in the Reeb Avenue house.
Pammy Maye, 48, tried to interrupt her husband's 911 call, according to a redacted 911 recording released Thursday. Maye can be heard saying she "had a plan" before she fled the home in a 2015 Jeep Cherokee with Ohio license plate JIGGZII. The vehicle was found abandoned around 6 a.m. Wednesday in the Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn.
Just before 10 p.m. on Thursday, authorities found Maye in the 4000 block of Tiedeman Road in Cleveland, wandering in her nightgown. She later told investigators where they could find Darnell's body.
When will Pammy Maye be brought back to Columbus?
Maye is expected to be brought back to Columbus on Wednesday, Columbus police Sgt. Joe Albert said.
After she is in Franklin County, a date for Maye's first court appearance will be set.
bbruner@dispatch.com
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What we know and don't know in Darnell Taylor, Pammy Maye investigation
