Pammy Maye Charged: Darnell Taylor, 5, allegedly killed by foster mother gets justice

The Columbus Dispatch received new information on Tuesday that sheds light on why Franklin County Children Services became engaged with a 5-year-old child who, as per the authorities, was subsequently suffocated by his legal guardian, Pammy Maye.

According to a Columbus police report, in March 2022, a neighbour noticed that a 2-year-old boy in a stroller was left outside unattended, so the neighbour contacted 911 and reported the child to the authorities, who subsequently placed him in emergency care.

About the boy's death and the discovery of his body in a sewage drain, 48-year-old Pammy Maye —the woman who eventually served as Darnell's legal custodian — is currently being charged with further crimes.

Maye was charged on Tuesday with aggravated murder, mistreatment of a corpse, and tampering with evidence by a grand jury in Franklin County. The next court date for Maye is on Friday afternoon when she is expected to be arraigned. Instead of a $4 million bond, she is presently being held in the Franklin County jail.

A boy strapped in a stroller was seen by the neighbour outside a house on the 100 block of Buffalo Court on March 25, 2022, at around 9:30pm, prompting the neighbour to phone 911, Columbus police reported.

The evening temperatures on that particular day were in the mid-to-high-40s, according to the weather data.

The report names a person with the same name and age as Darnell's biological mother, but it redacts the relationship of the person who went outside when the police arrived at the house.

According to the report, the mother told police that she had put the two-year-old outside "as a form of punishment for calling her a bad name" and that he had only been there for roughly five minutes. According to authorities, the neighbour informed them that the kid had been left alone outside for almost an hour.