COLUMBUS, Ohio – Janiah Bryant – Ma’Khia’s younger sister – called police in late March and threatened to kill someone if she was not removed from a Columbus-area foster home.
A Columbus Division of Police report states that in the 911 call, Janiah told the dispatcher she wanted to leave the home and return to Franklin County Children Services.
“When CPD officers arrived at the home, Janiah Bryant explained that she got into an argument with her sister, Ma’Khia Bryant, and foster mother, Angela Moore,” wrote Tom Sussi, the Central Ohio investigative reporter who broke the story.
When officers informed Janiah Bryant that they could not place her into another foster home, Janiah Bryant “became irate and stated that if she does not get to leave, then she was going to kill someone in the home.” The officers transported Janiah Bryant to Children’s Hospital for a psychological evaluation, according to the police report.
Records show a history of Moore calling police to the Walnut Heights home to report incidents involving the foster children there, where Sussi reports as many as 10 children may live.
Sussi contacted Moore for comment. She said, “I can’t comment on any of this,” and referred him to Franklin County JFS.
Likewise, Sussi reports Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Communications Director Bret Crow said that information could not be disclosed revealing “names, documentation, and other identifying information regarding a foster caregiver or prospective foster caregiver,” pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code.
“Paula Bryant, Janiah and Ma’Khia Bryant’s mother, confirmed that the sisters lived together,” wrote Sussi. “But says she had no idea that Janiah called the police, demanded to leave the foster home, and threatened to kill somebody if forced to stay.”
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is handling the investigation, which is ongoing.
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Jack Windsor is Statehouse Reporter at The Ohio Star. Windsor is also an independent investigative reporter. Follow Jack on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Columbus Shooting” by The Hill.
