Father, others wonder why siblings of slain girl are being moved to SC
The siblings of Christal Lane are being moved to South Carolina, an upheaval that follows the 8-year-old's beating death and concerns some who know them.
Christal and her siblings were living with their grandmother in Nash County before the girl’s death on Feb. 7. The grandmother, Patricia Ricks, is charged with her murder.
WRAL Investigates found that the Nash County Department of Social Services had been alerted weeks earlier that Lane was possibly being abused. However, Nash DSS chose not to remove the girl from her grandmother’s custody at the time.
A Nash DSS employee told WRAL News this week that "decisions are being made on the case to benefit the adults, not the children.”
Another source said that Christal's siblings were just getting acclimated in their new, stable foster homes but now face another move.
Nash DSS said the move, to Richland County in South Carolina, comes as part of a court order. They once lived there with their parents.
Nash DSS issued this statement:
"The Nash County Department of Social Services was ordered by the Court to contact the Richland County Department of Social Services to request they seek a determination of custody and placement of the Lane Children by the South Carolina Court.
"Our hearts are with the Lane Children. The bonds formed between these wonderful kids and our team are strong and make the Court’s decision difficult."
Dwyane Lane, father of the children wonders about the timing.
"How come they’re moving them from North Carolina to South Carolina when the incident happened in North Carolina? I don't understand it. That's not making any sense to me," he said.
Lane did not tell WRAL News why he and his wife lost custody of the children, but he did say they'd both been trying to save up to buy a home to accommodate them.
