Bayport, New York — A federal lawsuit filed Oct. 27 says Suffolk County Child Protective Services was told in January 2025 that a 6-year-old girl had been slapped by her guardian, did not open a formal investigation, and three months later consented in Family Court to give that guardian sole custody without telling the judge. The girl died Dec. 29, 2025, with about 90 injuries, and her guardian is now charged with murder.
The 44-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, names Suffolk County, the Bayport-Blue Point Union Free School District, several county and school employees, and the three women charged in the girl’s death, according to Patch. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages. The family’s attorneys filed a $250 million notice of claim against the county and the district in July, ABC7 New York reported.
What the lawsuit says happened
The girl was placed on Dec. 4, 2024, in the Bayport home of Emily Kelly, the fiancée of the girl’s incarcerated father, after several years in foster care, the complaint says. Her birth mother had lost custody after an alleged failed drug test, ABC7 reported in July.
On Jan. 22, 2025, the girl told a counselor at Academy Street Elementary School that Kelly had slapped her shoulder and thrown food at her five days earlier, and that another young child in the home was being hit, according to the suit. The counselor contacted a county caseworker and the principal. Kelly reportedly told the caseworker she had smacked the girl’s arm while stopping her from making herself vomit. The lawsuit alleges the caseworker accepted that account without opening a formal investigation or notifying the State Central Register, and that the school’s contact with CPS is missing from the records the county gave the family’s attorneys.
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On Feb. 5, 2025, a school nurse documented marks on the girl’s face. The girl asked the nurse not to contact Kelly and later denied being hit, the suit says.
Custody granted, case closed
At an April 9, 2025, Family Court proceeding, the county consented to Kelly receiving sole legal and residential custody, according to the complaint. The suit alleges county officials did not tell the judge, the birth mother or her attorney about the earlier reports, and that the mother agreed to the arrangement without that knowledge. The county closed its case the next day.
Afterward, the girl missed 29 school days in about 10 weeks, including 13 consecutive days in May 2025, and 18 more between September and December 2025, the suit says. It alleges the district did not investigate the absences and that Kelly stopped the girl’s school counseling and falsely claimed she was in private therapy. The complaint also alleges the county did not adequately vet Kelly and cites prior findings of weak investigations inside Suffolk’s child protective system.
The school told CPS. CPS hid that fact.
Derek Sells, attorney for the family, to Patch
The criminal case
Kelly, her mother, Barbara Renner, and her adult daughter, Elyssa Seymore, were arrested in May 2026. Kelly is charged with second-degree murder, Renner with second-degree manslaughter and Seymore with unlawful imprisonment, ABC7 reported. All three have pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege the women documented parts of the abuse in photos, videos and texts.
Court papers filed Oct. 26 disclosed that trace amounts of ketamine were found during the autopsy, Patch reported. The lawsuit alleges one or more of the women gave her the drug; prosecutors have not publicly said how it entered her system. The girl’s body was recently exhumed at the district attorney’s request, with her mother’s authorization. Authorities have not said what prompted the request.
What comes next
The Bayport-Blue Point school district declined to comment, citing pending litigation. Suffolk County did not immediately respond to Patch’s request for comment. Attorney Heather Palmore called the case “a complete and total system failure from the top down.” The criminal case against the three women is pending.
The complaint describes a pattern FAN has documented across the country: a child tells a trusted adult she is being hurt, the agency accepts the caregiver’s explanation, and the file closes. What turns a missed warning into a death is the absence of accountability, including a court that was never told what the agency knew when it was asked to approve the placement. FAN tracks these failures in its overview of foster care system problems.
Key facts
- A 44-page federal suit was filed Oct. 27, 2026, in the Eastern District of New York against Suffolk County, the Bayport-Blue Point school district, employees and three charged women.
- The girl told a school counselor on Jan. 22, 2025, that her guardian had slapped her; the suit says CPS opened no formal investigation and did not notify the State Central Register.
- On April 9, 2025, the county consented to sole custody for the guardian without telling the Family Court judge about the earlier reports, the suit alleges.
- The girl died Dec. 29, 2025, with about 90 injuries, according to the medical examiner.
- Emily Kelly is charged with second-degree murder; Barbara Renner and Elyssa Seymore face other charges. All have pleaded not guilty.
- A $250 million notice of claim was filed in July 2026; trace ketamine was disclosed in court papers Oct. 26.
Sources
- Patch — ‘I Don’t Have My Daughter’: LI Girl, 7, Reported Being Hit; Months Later, She Was Dead: Suit (2026-10-27)
- ABC7 New York — Lawsuit alleges missed abuse warnings before 7-year-old’s death (2026-10-27)
- Atlanta Black Star — Black 7-Year-Old Allegedly Reported Abuse from Dad’s Fiancée Months Before Her Death, Now Lawsuit Says Autopsy Found Drugs in Her System (2026-10-29)
- ABC7 New York — Birth mother plans to sue Suffolk County, school district over 7-year-old girl’s alleged abuse death (2026-07-07)
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