Live: Mecklenburg County employees fired, disciplined after 6-year-old girl’s death
Mecklenburg County officials are testifying before a North Carolina House committee Thursday on the death of a Charlotte 6-year-old.
The state House Oversight Committee summoned Mecklenburg County Manager Mike Bryant to answer questions about Dominique Moody, who was found dead at her aunt’s east Charlotte home in December showing signs of abuse and malnourishment. The aunt and two other women face first-degree murder charges in the case.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police and the county’s social services department received reports about Moody’s home before she died, the Observer and other news outlets found.
The situation sparked multiple investigations, and the state Department of Health and Human Services announced in late May Mecklenburg must create a corrective action plan to address issues within the county’s social services department.
The committee also called Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Estella Patterson, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, interim DSS Director Leticia Loadholt and state Health and Human Services Division Director Lisa Cauley to testify before Thursday. The group also heard from Emily Putnam-Hornstein, who researches child welfare policies and practices at UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Social Work.
Nash County Republican Rep. Allen Chesser, whose been leading the charge in Raleigh to investigate Moody’s death, presided over Thursday’s hearing.
It’s the second time this year the Republican-controlled Oversight Committee scheduled a hearing to question Charlotte leaders. The committee brought local leaders in earlier this year on safety in the city in the aftermath of the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on the LYNX Blue Line light rail.
Follow along below for live updates as the hearing begins at 9 a.m.:
1:30 p.m.: Bryant testimony details staff discipline after Moody case
Bryant submitted written testimony that multiple county employees left the county or were disciplined over Moody’s death, legislators said during Thursday’s hearing. The committee said Bryant told them a “senior social services manager was terminated,” a “social worker supervisor resigned” and others were “disciplined.”
“These specific actions were associated with the case,” Bryant told the committee Thursday.
Loadholt said the county reviewed the work of those involved in Moody’s case.
1:20 p.m.: Bryant says Moody case left him ‘speechless’
Bryant began his testimony saying Moody’s death left him “speechless” and said he “immediately” ordered an internal investigation when he found out about the situation. Bryant said he also called for a human resources investigation “for accountability and appropriate disciplinary actions.”
“While we cannot change the outcome for Dominique, we have an obligation to learn from this case and strengthen the systems entrusted with protecting all vulnerable children,” he said.
The county is taking steps to address issues identified in social services, Bryant said, including investing in more staff.
He offered condolences to Moody’s family and said he spoke with Moody’s great uncle at Thursday’s hearing. He noted he and Moody are both from Cumberland County and that he and the uncle went to the same high school.
Both Bryant and Loadholt said they were limited in what they could say about Moody’s case by a court order related to the criminal case surrounding her death. The committee said before their opening statements they should limit how much they invoke that order.
1 p.m.: Moody’s uncle calls for ‘accountability,’ says system has ‘blood on its hands’
J. Vernon Peterson, a great-uncle of Moody’s, told reporters during a break in the hearing he was “delighted” the hearing was happening but wants to see more accountability for his relative’s death and for other children.
“Dominique is gone, but hopefully we can rescue and save the rest of the children in North Carolina,” he said.
Peterson said the system “failed” Moody and has “blood on its hands.” He described leaders’ testimony so far as “bureaucratic.” Some appeared to be “shirking” responsibility, he said.
“Someone somewhere should have sounded the alarm,” he said.
Attorney Chance D. Lynch, part of the family’s legal team, questioned why law enforcement didn’t go into the home to check on the children living there.
“Even with us sitting there, I’m still unclear on how much face-to-face contact was had with these children,” he said.
Lynch said the family is also thinking of Moody’s sister, who was also in the home. Lynch said she believes the sister is in a DSS placement.
12:30 p.m.: Committee breaks for lunch
The committee swore in Bryant and Loadholt but then called for a 30-minute lunch break.
12:08 p.m.: Legislator: Why did no one flag ‘flashing red signs?’
Wake County Republican Rep. Mike Schietzelt told McFadden and Patterson he felt “mounting frustration” during Thursday’s hearing over what he called “a lot of willingness to shirk responsibility and to try to place the blame on someone else or circle wagons.”
“There were flashing red signs that should have tipped people off that something was not right here,” he said.
He said cases like Moody’s affect community’s ability to trust government.
“There’s a lot that fell through the cracks here,” Schietzelt said.
Noon: Patterson, McFadden on past DSS referrals
Asked by Charlotte state Rep. Carla Cunningham about whether law enforcement flagged Moody’s situation or home to social services, McFadden said the sheriff’s office made no related referrals to DSS. He said there was no indication deputies ever went inside the east Charlotte home where she died.
Patterson said CMPD made one related DSS referral at another location. She said CMPD also spoke with the children at the home during a welfare check and “did not report anything unusual.”
Cunningham questioned how there weren’t more referrals given the state of the home. Patterson told legislators law enforcement and social services need to improve their communication processes.
“We could do more thorough investigations when we look at these kinds of cases,” she said.
11:40 a.m.: McFadden, Patterson detail past visits to Moody residence
McFadden said the sheriff’s office went to Moody’s home seven times in recent years, including four attempts to serve a domestic violence protective order against Tonya McKnight. Court records show McKnight was Moody’s aunt and had custody of the child.
“But no one came to the door,” he said.
Chesser and McFadden noted that sheriff’s deputies serving civil papers have different jurisdiction and authority than law enforcement officers serving a criminal warrant.
Patterson said CMPD responded to 36 incidents at the address, including three domestic disturbance calls and one call for domestic violence and physical assault.
“We did not see a pattern of behavior that was concerning over five years,” Patterson said. She added she wants to implement more systems to flag calls to help catch issues.
11:33 a.m.: Patterson: ‘Justice cannot restore a life’
Patterson highlighted CMPD’s efforts to get charges brought against three people in connection with Moody’s death and Charlotte’s recent progress on overall crime rates.
But she added, “accountability after a tragedy does not erase the tragedy”
“We recognize that justice is essential, but justice cannot restore a life that has been lost,” Patterson said.
11:25 a.m.: Mecklenburg sheriff, CMPD chief begin testimony
McFadden and Patterson began their appearance before the committee shortly before 11:30 a.m.
In his opening statement, the sheriff said his agency’s involvement in the Moody case is “extremely limited.”
“I wish we had been given the opportunity to intervene before this tragedy occurred, but at no point did our deputies witness or receive information that Dominique was put in any harm’s way,” he said.
11:05 a.m.: Committee recesses ahead of Mecklenburg leaders’ testimony
The committee took a break shortly after 11 a.m. Mecklenburg leaders are expected to begin their testimony after the recess.
11 a.m.: Would increased staffing help prevent child welfare issues?
As committee members wrapped up their questioning of state officials and a UNC subject-matter expert, the group discussed whether hiring more people in social services departments would help prevent child welfare issues.
Mecklenburg County funded new positions in its new budget set to take effect July 1, including 18 additional child welfare positions, as part of a $2.5 million investment in Child, Family and Adult Services
Putnam-Hornstein suggested focusing more on education and training for social services staff rather than just bringing on more staff.
“I don’t think it’s as simple as we need to hire more people if we’re hiring more people without the proper training and accountability structures,” she said. “That’s not at all clear to me based on the facts that have been released that hiring additional people in Mecklenburg County would’ve made any difference in Dominique’s case or as the kind of systemic change that’s needed.”
10:30 a.m.: Committee questions state officials
Committee members asked state DHHS officials to share more information on how social workers handle child welfare cases in Mecklenburg and across the state.
Technology has made it easier for social services departments to track cases, but cases are also increasingly complex because they often intersect with mental health or substance abuse issues, Causey said.
9:45 a.m.: ‘Dominique was not invisible,’ UNC expert says
Putnam-Hornstein noted that child welfare officials and law enforcement “were inside the home repeatedly in the years before (Moody) died.”
“Dominique was not invisible,” she said.
Putnam-Hornstein said her knowledge of Moody’s specific case was mostly limited to news reports, but that people “too often we miss small but important details” when in homes.
“The most common failure I see behind serious child injuries and deaths is this: we had information that we realized only in retrospect was critical to understanding the danger a child was in,” she said.
Putnam-Hornstein suggested new technologies can help counties and the state develop “predictive risk models” that flag high-risk cases for further investigation. She said counties in Pennsylvania and California have had success with such systems.
“I have to imagine a model would have flagged her case for further scrutiny,” she said of Moody.
9:30 a.m.: State officials highlight Mecklenburg issues
DHHS officials gave the committee an overview of the issues they found within Mecklenburg’s social services system after Moody’s death triggered an investigation.
They reiterated their review of Moody’s case and other cases found multiple “failures” and laid out what the county will have to do to fix the system as part of the corrective action plan.
Struggles with employee recruiting and retention, high caseloads and a lack of resources make it harder for counties and the state to keep up with the breadth of child welfare cases, officials told the committee.
The state has taken over three counties’ social services departments and has six other counties on corrective action plans, Cauley said.
“In short, change is needed,” Cauley said.
9:15 a.m.: Chesser calls Moody’s death an ‘unimaginable tragedy’
Chesser opened Thursday’s hearing by calling the case an “unimaginable tragedy.”
“There’s an ongoing criminal prosecution in this case, and we will not jeopardize that. Dominique Moody’s case will be tried in a court of law, not in this chamber,” the Nash County Republican said. “But what we will discuss today is the system’s failure to keep children safe.”
Chesser said child welfare issues exist “not just in Mecklenburg County” but statewide.
“We must address this now, because we can’t afford a delay. Every delay means a child remains unsafe,” he said.
Thursday’s hearing will include testimony from state child welfare officials and subject-matter experts, Chesser said.
Bryant previews Thursday hearing in Raleigh
Bryant told reporters after Tuesday’s Mecklenburg County commission meeting he was “looking forward” to Thursday’s hearing.
“It gives us an opportunity to share firsthand with the House Oversight Committee the plan that we put in place in response to the recommendations from DHHS, as well as hear from them as it relates to how they can continue to partner with not just Mecklenburg County but all 100 counties in the state of North Carolina,” he said.
This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Live: Mecklenburg County employees fired, disciplined after 6-year-old girl’s death."
