The aggravated murder case moves before a jury more than two years after 5-year-old Darnell Taylor was found dead.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The trial of Pammy Maye, the woman accused of killing 5-year-old Darnell Taylor while he was in her care, began Monday in Franklin County after lengthy court proceedings over whether Maye was mentally competent to stand trial.
Maye faces aggravated murder, three counts of tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse in Taylor’s February 2024 death. A jury was selected before the start of proceedings Monday. The trial brings the criminal case to a new stage after questions about Maye’s mental condition delayed the prosecution and led to treatment at a psychiatric facility.
A Franklin County judge found Maye not competent to stand trial in 2025. Competency in a criminal case concerns whether a defendant can understand the proceedings and assist in a defense. After treatment and further evaluation, the court ruled in April 2026 that Maye was competent to proceed. That finding allowed the criminal case to move toward trial but did not determine whether she was legally responsible for her alleged actions.
Defense attorney Sam Shamansky has said he planned to pursue a defense of not guilty by reason of insanity. That issue is separate from competency to stand trial. Competency addresses a defendant’s present ability to participate in court proceedings, while an insanity defense concerns the defendant’s mental condition at the time of the alleged offense. The jury will be asked to consider the evidence presented in court under the legal standards given by the judge.
Maye rejected a plea agreement this summer and chose to proceed to trial. The decision followed months of hearings after her competency was restored. The rejected agreement would have resolved the case without a jury deciding the charges, but Maye instead elected to have the prosecution prove its case at trial.
The charges stem from Taylor’s disappearance in February 2024. Columbus police issued an AMBER Alert after Maye’s husband called 911 shortly after 3 a.m. on Feb. 14 and reported that his wife had said she harmed the child. Authorities began searching for Taylor and Maye, who had left the Columbus area.
Police later located Maye’s Jeep Cherokee in Brooklyn, a Cleveland suburb. Maye was arrested there on Feb. 15 after police were called about a woman near a business. Investigators said Maye later provided information that directed officers to Taylor’s body, which Columbus police recovered from a storm drain early Feb. 16.
A Franklin County grand jury later indicted Maye on aggravated murder and related charges. Prosecutors allege she killed Taylor, concealed his body and took steps connected to hiding evidence. Those accusations remain allegations, and Maye is entitled to a presumption of innocence unless prosecutors prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
The competency proceedings became one of the central reasons the case took more than two years to reach a jury. The court’s decision that Maye could stand trial settled only whether she was presently able to participate in her defense. It did not resolve the defense’s claims about her mental condition when Taylor died, an issue expected to be significant as the case unfolds.
The trial is proceeding in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, where jurors will hear evidence from prosecutors and the defense before deciding the charges. No verdict has been reached, and the outcome of the case remains unresolved as testimony begins.
Author note: Last updated November 9, 2026.