CLEVELAND — Pammy Maye, the 48-year-old woman at the center of an Ohio Amber Alert case, was in a Columbus courtroom Thursday morning to face a judge on several charges connected to the death of 5-year-old Darnell Taylor nearly a week after the missing boy's body was found in Franklin County.
During the brief arraignment hearing, which we streamed live, a judge set bond at $4 million total -- $3 million for murder and $1 million for kidnapping.
Maye, the child's custodial mother, is due back in court for a preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. on Friday, March 1.
Maye was previously booked into the Cuyahoga County Jail before she was extradited back to Columbus on Wednesday amid charges of murder, kidnapping and child endangering.
Maye was arrested near Cleveland around 9:34 p.m. last Thursday after she was located at a business on Tiedeman Road in Brooklyn.
Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said the body, which is believed to be Darnell, was found in the 1000 block of Marsdale Avenue around 1 a.m. Friday after investigators had learned it may be in a sewage drain.
"This is a tragic development and we certainly hoped for a different outcome," Chief Bryant said during a press conference Friday morning.
The statewide Amber Alert was issued early Wednesday morning by Columbus police. The situation started shortly after 3 a.m. that morning when officers were dispatched to the 900 block of Reeb Avenue in Columbus. Police say a 911 caller stated that his wife, Maye, woke him up and made statements that made him believe Darnell had been hurt.
Police report the caller also said that Maye abruptly left the residence in a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. That Jeep was found in Brooklyn a few hours later.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE IN THE CASE
- Pammy Maye arrested and charged in death of 5-year-old Darnell Taylor after Ohio Amber Alert issued for missing boy
- Understanding the different types of legal custody that can be awarded to non-parents in Ohio: Legally Speaking
- Ohio Amber Alert timeline: Case of 5-year-old Darnell Taylor
- Ohio Amber Alert: Here's the criteria behind activating an alert amid search for missing 5-year-old Darnell Taylor