A jury found the Columbus woman who killed her 5-year-old foster child in 2024 guility of murder on Tuesday after a two-day trial.
Pammy Maye, 51, was convicted of aggravated murder, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. She killed Darnell Taylor and dumped his body in a sewer drain before fleeing to the Cleveland area.
It was never in dispute whether Maye killed Taylor, but at the center of the trial was if Maye was mentally insane when she did so.
Maye confessed her crimes to police on body-worn camera footage. She told police she suffocated Taylor with a plastic bag, wrapped his body in a sleeping bag and drove Taylor's body to a sewer drain, where she left him.
Maye also told police she washed the bed sheets because Taylor urinated in the bed as he was dying.
Maye told police she was frustrated with Taylor's behavior and the boy eating snacks in his bed.
Maye confessed to her husband what she did and he called police. Maye fled in her car to Brooklyn, Ohio where police located and arrested her.
Defense Attorney Sam Shamansky told reporters after the trial the justice system needs to be reformed to help people like Maye who are mentally ill, but not insane.
"If we had a more... a system that understood that middle ground better, this case would have never gone to trial," Shamansky said.
Maye was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and major depression. The doctor who examined Maye's mental health and testified on the stand, Dr. Daniel Davis, expressed doubt about whether this contributed to Maye killing Taylor. Davis also said Maye was overreporting symptoms and may have been fabricating some.
"The problem with the system is that we don't have an intermediate diminished capacity statute that deals with folks that are this ill but not insane. The only question here is where is she going to spend the rest of her life in a psychiatric setting or at Marysville," Shamansky said.
Opening arguments were heard and all witnesses testified on Monday. On Tuesday, Franklin County prosecutors and Maye's defense attorney gave closing arguments before the case was handed to the jury.
The jury deliberated for more than two hours, starting just after 11:30 a.m.
The Franklin County Prosecutor's Office declined to comment until after Maye is sentenced.
Maye faces a maximum punishment of life in prison. Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Mark Serrott will sentence Maye at a later date.
