State to investigate how county handled abuse case of 8-year-old girl allegedly murdered by her grandmother

North Carolina lawmakers want to know why the Nash County Department of Social Services did not remove a girl from an abusive situation.

Eight-year-old Christal Lane died on Feb. 7, and her grandmother is charged in her death.

Nash County Public Schools found that DSS investigators visited campus several times.

School alerted Nash County to girl's beating before Christmas, but county failed to remove her from home where she died

“In this case, it’s apparent that the child should have been removed from the house based on the seriousness of the abuse and the physical abuse that was obvious,” said Democratic State Sen. Gladys Robinson.

Arrest warrants show Lane died of severe blunt force trauma to her head and body.

Ricks, 72, is charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse.

“The child should have been removed,” Robinson said. “The child should not have died if action had been taken.”

Last week, the state Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], which oversees Nash County DSS, said its role is only to provide technical support and resources to the counties.

Robinson said that’s not accurate and state law mandates DHHS investigates how social services handled Lane’s death.

On Monday, Robinson said DHHS will investigate Nash County DSS.

“The department will be conducting an investigation at the Nash County DSS to determine what procedures weren’t followed, what actually happened and if there are any other cases like that as well,” Robinson said.

WRAL Investigates reached out to DHHS on Monday to ask why the department said Friday it wouldn’t investigate the county.

“In that technical assistance, it includes training of county staff,” said DHHS Human Services Director Lisa Cauley. “It also includes oversight of county practice and case reviews.”

DHHS said it is standard practice to investigate child deaths is connected to social service investigations. The department could look at other abuse cases to see what changes the county needs to make.

“Was this just one thing that happened in one case, or is it a trend?” Cauley said. “And in order to do that, you start with one case and look at case samples.”

Robinson said if the findings are severe enough, the state could even assume control of Nash County DSS.

“There are several steps depending on what they find,” Robinson said. “All the way to taking over. So, there are steps all the way from, this may precipitate an investigation into other cases.”

On Monday, WRAL Investigates spoke with Ricks' first cousin Arva Johnson, who is a former police officer. Johnson was stunned and said it was completely out of character for Ricks.

Johnson said Ricks spoke about her grandchildren with pride, sharing pictures and making video calls often.

"She was well-mannered," Johnson said of Ricks. "She loved those grandchildren.

"She would never let anything happen to them. That's why she took them from her children. She would raise them. Her and [her] husband Beau. It's hard to believe."

WRAL Investigates asked Johnson whether she thinks Lane's death could have been prevented.

Johnson asked why Lane was let back into Ricks' home after the December report of abuse, and why Nash County DSS did not take urgent action.