CHARLESTON – A Doddridge County woman blames the state DHHR’s Child Protective Services for the death of her 10-year-old son at the hands of his father.
Kristen Sponaugle, administratrix of the estate of Nathaniel Russell Layfield, filed her complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against the West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources.
Terry Layfield killed Nate Layfield before killing himself at their home in Clarksburg on July 24, 2023.
The case is another example of DHHR's failures to do their job and their mandates under the law resulting in the deaths of children around the state or being exposed to abuse," attorney Tony O'Dell told The West Virginia Record. "We hope this case is a way of shining further light on what's going on with the DHHR."
Two weeks before that, a referral had been made to the DHHR’s CPS office reporting events of child sexual abuse by Terry Layfield against two young children closely related to Terry and Nate Layfield, according to the complaint. It also says the alleged sexual abuse occurred while Nate Layfield was in the custody of Terry Layfield, who had visitation rights and exercised overnight custody of Nate on a regular basis.
“CPS had a mandatory duty to identify any child in imminent danger or to whom there is reasonable cause to believe that any child in the home is or has been sexually abused or sexually exploited,” the complaint states. “CPS never contacted Nate Layfield or Kristin Sponaugle. CPS failed to engage any communication with Nate Layfield or Kristen Sponaugle, conduct no face-to-face contact and performed no immediate response or imminent danger assessment for Nate Layfield.”
The complaint says Terry Layfield took custody of his son July 23, 2023, the same day he was advised an interview was requested with him the following day regarding the allegations of child sexual abuse.
“CPS still failed to make the mandatory contact with Nate Layfield and Kristen Sponaugle,” the complaint states. “Having advance notice of the interview, Terry Layfield texted family members in the early morning of July 24, 2023, expressing comments about the child sexual abuse allegations, then killed Nate Layfield and himself.”
Sponaugle says her son would not have been in his father’s custody if CPS had followed its own rules.
She seeks compensatory damages, pre- and post-judgment interests and other relief.
Sponaugle is being represented by O’Dell and Cheryl A. Fisher of Tiano O’Dell in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 24-C-44
