COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Franklin County Coroner’s Office released its report Tuesday detailing what caused the death of 5-year-old Darnell Taylor on Feb. 13.
According to the report, Darnell’s death was the result of “asphyxia by smothering with cervical neck compression.”
Franklin County Municipal Court documents say, 48-year-old Pammy Maye allegedly suffocated Darnell around 11 p.m. on Feb. 13, approximately six hours before an AMBER Alert was dispatched. Maye later admitted that after killing Darnell, she put his body in a sewer in the 1600 block of Marsdale Avenue in south Columbus, records say.
Maye is charged with murder, kidnapping and child endangerment related to the death of Darnell. She was indicted by a grand jury on one count of aggravated murder, three counts of tampering with evidence and one count of abuse of a corpse.
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 Maye.
The man told police that Maye and the child left the residence. Authorities were searching for a Jeep Cherokee in which Maye 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 Maye and took her into custody without incident.
After interviewing Maye, detectives learned that Taylor'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.
Sam Shamansky, an attorney representing Maye, said Maye is likely to change her plea to not guilty by insanity at a later date.
