INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana mother has filed a civil suit against an Indianapolis father and the Indiana Department of Child Services in connection to a 10-year-old boy's death in July 2020.
Hayley Kelly, who lives in Wabash, filed a wrongful death complaint against Anthony Dibiah, who lives in Indianapolis, and whom she shared custody of Nakota Kelly with since he was 6 years old. Hayley also filed a complaint against DCS for negligence associated with the wrongful death.
"Nakota, at first, was excited to go with his dad and then all of a sudden, he wasn’t excited anymore, and I knew something was wrong," Hayley told 13News in October 2020, saying she called DCS six times in four years to report what Dakota was telling her.
According to court documents, Hayley filed a claim with DCS on July 14, 2020, after Nakota said, "Oh, I'm dead. Don't expect me to come home," when finding out he was going to his father's home that weekend.
Nakota further elaborated and said, "My dad is going to kill me," because Dibiah was reportedly angry with him after Nakota previously refused to talk to Dibiah and hung up the phone on him.
"He was a good-hearted kid. He would protect anybody that was hurting," Hayley told 13News.
Court documents state that a DCS representative contacted Hayley two days later about the claim, saying the weekend visitation was required because it was court-ordered. Thus, Hayley dropped Nakota off at Dibiah's apartment for a weekend visitation from July 17-19.
According to a probable cause affidavit, two people — a friend and a distant relative — called police and said Dibiah had called them saying he had killed his own son.
The first call to police came July 18 from the relative. Police then went to Dibiah's apartment in the 6000 block of South West Lake Road, near Rockville Road and North Lynhurst Drive, to do a welfare check around 10 p.m. No one answered after they knocked on the door, but officers heard someone inside, determined they didn't have reason for forced entry and left.
The second call came July 19, from the friend. The friend said Dibiah asked to borrow a suitcase, and after the friend said yes, Dibiah called back and said he suffocated his son using a bag. The friend said Dibiah then told him he took the boy's body to the bathroom to make sure he was dead, dumped it and had left the state.
When police got to Dibiah's apartment on the west side of Indianapolis around 11:45 a.m. on July 19, there was a crime scene, but neither Dibiah nor his son were there. Officers found blood and brain matter in the bathroom and blood in the bedroom of the apartment.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol found Dibiah in Missouri around 4 p.m. on July 19. Nakota's body was not in the car with him and still has not been recovered.
Dibiah has been charged with murder in his son's death. A jury trial is scheduled for May 23.
On July 19, Hayley said she got a text from Dibiah's cellphone that read, "Sometimes I hear voices, my son is in heaven."
According to court documents, Hayley contacted DCS after receiving this text, but nobody picked up, so she left a voicemail. Court documents say Hayley received a response back from DCS on July 20, asking "what is going on?" to which she responded that her son is dead.
Hayley said she made multiple child abuse complaints to DCS across multiple years without getting any meaningful response or assistance.
According to court documents, a representative with DCS at one point told Hayley that "the father does not have a criminal background, but you do."
"It's a brick laying on my chest, knowing that I can’t have my son to put him at ease," Hayley told 13News. "They [DCS] had the power and responsibility to keep children safe, and they didn’t do that with my son."
According to court documents, Hayley is seeking damages for loss of services, loss of love and companionship, funeral and burial expenses, costs associated with uninsured debts/expenses of the child, psychological and psychiatric counselling services, estate administration expenses and fees, attorney fees and for all other just and proper relief in the premises.
13News reached out to DCS about the lawsuit and was told there would be no comment at this time.
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