Prosecutors say woman accused of suffocating 5-year-old may have mental health issues, bond set

The caregiver accused of suffocating a 5-year-old boy in her care and dumping his body in a sewage drain made her first appearance in Franklin County Municipal Court Thursday morning.

Pammy Maye, 48, appeared in a beige jail uniform and showed no visible emotion during the hearing. Prosecutors said Maye suffocated preschooler Darnell Taylor and left his body in a sewage drain, where investigators would later discover him.

Judge Cynthia Ebner ordered Maye held on $4 million bond on charges of murder, kidnapping and endangering children. McCoy asked for a high bond given the severity of the charges Maye faces and because she fled the Columbus area before being arrested in Cleveland after a prolonged Amber Alert.

Maye's next court date is currently scheduled for March 1; however, it is likely a grand jury will review her case and an indictment will be filed before that date.

What happened during Pammy Maye's first court hearing?

The hearing itself yielded few new details. However, Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Tyler McCoy provided some new insight on Maye.

McCoy said that Maye was previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and had exhibited possessive and controlling behavior in the past. She and her husband served as legal guardians for the child.

What we know: Darnell Taylor and Pammy Maye: What we know and don't know about 5-year-old boy's death

While it's fair to assess and consider a caregiver's mental health, a diagnosis shouldn't make someone ineligible for kinship or foster care, said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, a Virginia-based nonprofit that advocates for policy changes concerning child abuse, foster care and family preservation.

"It is reasonable to evaluate, but it is unreasonable to make that an automatic cause to rule anyone out," he said. "With the right treatment ... a relative or stranger can be a very good caregiver."

What happened to Darnell Taylor?

On Feb. 14, Maye's husband called 911 after Maye told him Darnell was no longer with them. While Maye's husband was on the phone with dispatchers, Maye tried to cover her husband's mouth and said she "had a plan," according to police reports.

Police arrived at the Mayes' home on the 900 block of Reeb Avenue within five minutes, but May and Darnell were already gone. Their disappearance prompted an Amber Alert.

Police in the Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn found Maye's SUV in the parking lot of an apartment complex about an hour after the Amber Alert went live across the state.

Police continued searching for Maye for more than 24 hours. They found her on the night of Feb. 15 wandering in a nightgown near a highway overpass in the Cleveland suburb. Police said that Maye told investigators where they could find Darnell's body. When police went to the 1600 block of Marsdale Avenue around 1 a.m. the following morning, they found Darnell's body in a sewage drain.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Maye suffocated Darnell on the morning of Feb. 13.

Those investigating whether the system failed Darnell need to start at the beginning, Wexler said.

"The first thing to look at was whether there was any need to take this child from his own parents in the first place," Wexler said.

Why did Pammy Maye have custody of Darnell Taylor?

Darnell's paternal grandparents told WBNS-10TV they had been caring for the 5-year-old but became unable to continue to do so. Darnell's grandparents have declined on multiple occasions to speak with The Dispatch.

The grandparents told 10TV they had known Maye for many years and when Maye and her husband were willing to take custody of Darnell in May 2023, they agreed.

At some point between May 2023 and Feb. 14, the Mayes became the legal custodians of Darnell. Guardianship, Wexler said, is considered a few steps shy of adoption and is sometimes utilized when a birth parent doesn't want to give up their legal right to a child.

However, it's unclear to whom, Franklin County Children Services made a referral to kinship care in Darnell's case before his death.

What is a kinship caregiver?

A person can become a kinship caregiver when the parent of a child is unable for whatever reason to care for him or her, according to the state of Ohio. Those who can apply to take in a child through kinship care are either a family member or close family friend.

While similar to foster parents, kinship care providers face fewer hoops to jump through to get approved to take care of a child, according to the state. Kinship care providers still must pass a home assessment, criminal background checks and must abide by a checklist that ensures they are able to adequately provide a safe environment for a child, among other things.

But the kinship care approval process is less stringent than the one needed for foster care.

For example, foster care requires references, a more nuanced home assessment and for the applicant to provide medical statements from a physician, according to the state.

Wexler said he fears a "knee jerk" reaction from lawmakers to Darnell's death could be more oversight of legal guardians and adoptive parents. But Wexler said that kind of defeats the point as the system should instead "do a better job of checking into relatives and strangers before you place children there."

Dispatch reporter Bailey Gallion contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Prosecutors: Ohio woman who suffocated 5-year-old has mental health issues