Darnell Taylor: Foster mother arrested after 5-year-old Ohio boy who was the subject of Amber Alert found dead
COLUMBUS, OHIO: Darnell Taylor, a five-year-old boy who had been missing since December 12, 2023, and the subject of an Amber Alert on February 14, was found dead in a sewage drain, police said.
His foster mother, Pammy Maye, who allegedly confessed to killing him in a horrific phone call made to her husband, was arrested on Thursday night, February 15.
Pammy Maye, Darnell Taylor's foster mother, told her husband their son was no longer alive
Darnell Taylor was last seen with his 48-year-old foster mother Pammy Maye in December 2023, according to his father.
On February 14, Maye’s husband called 911 at around 3 am and told a dispatcher that Maye had killed the boy, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by People.
“While on the phone with the 911 operator, he stated that his wife said their son was no longer alive,” the affidavit states.
He also said that Darnell had not been seen since December 12 or December 13 and that Maye had left the house in a 2015 Jeep Cherokee.
Maye's husband had searched the home before he reached out to authorities, according to the outlet.
“On the 911 call, Ms Maye held her hand over the father’s mouth when he was trying to make the call, saying she had a plan,” the investigator alleged. Authorities said Maye then fled the scene.
Police located Pammy Maye and her vehicle in Brooklyn, Ohio
Columbus Division of Police posted an Amber Alert on Facebook, asking for the public’s help to find Darnell and Maye on February 14.
Her vehicle was found in Brooklyn, Ohio, shortly before 6 am that day, but Maye and Darnell were not in it.
On Thursday night, February 15, Maye was found and taken into custody in Brooklyn, Ohio, Columbus police chief Elaine Bryant said at a press conference aired by WKYC.
The body's discovery came after Brooklyn police officers responded to a business in the 4000 block of Tiedeman Road at 9.38 pm on Thursday, February 15, amid a report of a woman walking suspiciously around the building.
"The responding officers identified the woman as Pammy Maye and took her into custody without incident," Bryant said, adding "She was subsequently transported to a local hospital in the Cleveland area for medical treatment."
Darnell Taylor's body was found in a sewage drain after Pammy Maye led police to it
Bryant said that Maye told officers that Darnell’s body was possibly in a sewage drain. Hours later, the body was found at the 1000 block of Marsdale Avenue in Franklin County shortly after 1 am.
Maye is currently charged with kidnapping and child endangerment. Police are in contact with prosecutors and are in the process of obtaining a murder charge against Maye, Bryant said.
Columbus police have also begun the process of bringing her back to Franklin County. It’s not clear if she has entered a plea to the charges or retained an attorney.
