A woman is facing second-degree murder charges in the death of a toddler in Person County.
Latisha Annette Linzsey, 49, was indicted by a grand jury, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said.
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Kemari Morgan, 1, was found dead on May 24, at what family members said was the foster home in Roxboro where he had been placed with his 2-year-old sister. At the time, the Person County Sheriff’s office told WRAL that Kemari had previous medical conditions.
Toxicology reports found Kemari "died as a result of receiving a fatal dosage of multiple medications," according to the NCSBI.
Additionally, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said the foster parent license for Linzsey had expired at the time of Kemari's death. Person County told WRAL News that Linzsey had a license when Kemari was placed in her care, and she was in the process of being re-licensed. Morgan was allowed to be in an unlicensed home with the court's approval.
Linzsey is being held at the Person County Detention Center under a $300,000 bond, pending her first court appearance this week.
Kemari's family members and community activists have been critical of Person County's Department of Social Services. At the time of his death, they called on the county to remove his sister from the foster home, and place her back with the children’s mother or grandmother.
The family told WRAL on Tuesday that the sister had been removed from the home and is staying with family now.
Briauna Morgan was Kemari's mother and called him "her special one." The tragedy still hurts her and she wishes Linzsey was more communicative with her.
"Honestly, I have no words for her, because we had open communication," said Morgan. "She could have picked up that phone. She could've called me, she could've answered when I called. All she had to do was just tell me something. She left me with nothing."
Morgan felt betrayed by the system she trusted to give Kemari the necessary support.
"They're supposed to be here to help us," she said. "To protect, to give us guidance, to show us different ways to help our children, help us with programs. This didn't do anything but tear my family apart."
A report commissioned from an outside consulting group found that there was a need for improvement with the Person County Child Welfare Services. The report was released in July and had been in the works for more than a year.
The report's authors found DSS staff did have a strong sense of teamwork, but were also struggling with poorly maintained and organized paperwork, and a high workload. The report found providing staff with more resources, “could prevent placement and removal of children from the home.”
The social services report did include some praise for the county’s department, including steps leaders have taken to improve office communication.