Leaders of the North Carolina House Oversight Committee are calling on Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather to conduct a criminal review of county social services employees and officials who handled reports and case decisions involving the death of six-year-old Dominique Moody.
Discussions over the death of Moody were the premise of an over eight-hour House Oversight Committee meeting in Raleigh last week which left lawmakers visibly frustrated with state and local officials.
In a June 8 letter, House Oversight Committee co-chairs Reps. Jake Johnson, R-Polk; Brenden Jones, R-Columbus; and Harry Warren, R-Rowan, asked the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office to examine whether county employees violated state law by failing to properly respond to multiple reports of abuse and neglect involving Moody.
“Dominique Moody’s death could have been prevented,” said Rep. Allen Chesser, R-Nash, during the hearing, describing the case as a preventable tragedy caused by inaction.
The committee’s letter highlights broader concerns uncovered during a state review. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) examined 122 unrelated Mecklenburg County CPS cases and found widespread issues. State reviewers reported that workers failed to ask sufficient questions in 52% of intake cases, failed to properly notify law enforcement or prosecutors in 36% of cases involving potentially criminal child abuse, and developed adequate safety plans in only 43% of cases.
Lawmakers are specifically requesting review of possible violations of several North Carolina laws, including requiring the reporting of abuse, neglect, and child deaths due to maltreatment; requirements that social services directors report evidence of abuse to law enforcement and prosecutors; failure to report crimes against juveniles; and willful failure to discharge official duties.
“The House Oversight hearing made clear that Mecklenburg County DSS has no excuse for her death, and its own leadership admitted that the agency did not comply with the law meant to protect her,” the letter states. “We respectfully ask that your office determine whether the public employees and officials who failed Dominique Moody broke the law while she was left to suffer and die.”
Chesser pressed local officials during the hearing on whether any laws had been broken by Mecklenburg County staff. Officials responded that they had not conducted an investigation into whether any laws were violated.
“If you will not commit to having people sent for legal evaluation, in the case of the investigation you’ve done for charges, I call on DA Merriweather to do it,” said Chesser, during the hearing. “There should be people held to account, and I believe there are people at that table that should be held to account, for the criminal neglect that has been shown in this case and other cases which is proven by the DHHS report.”
The request for a criminal review adds new pressure on Mecklenburg County officials and comes as lawmakers continue discussing broader reforms to North Carolina’s county-administered child welfare system.