Social Services looking into deaths of two sisters in N.C.

MANNS HARBOR

The deaths of two children in a hot car are being investigated by the North Carolina Division of Social Services as well as the Dare County Sheriff's Office, officials confirmed Monday.

Dare County Sheriff's Office Lt. Bill Godley said the case would be handed over to the district attorney, who will decide whether it requires further investigation. Godley said that the prosecutor is routinely called in when deaths are involved.

"We're working this case as a very tragic accident," he said. "We're not working any criminal case at this time."

Nineteen-month-old Kassandra Daniels and 2-1/2 -year-old Amariyah Daniels were discovered Friday in a neighbor's car in which the temperature had reached 135 degrees. Kassandra died shortly after they were found, and Amariyah died early Saturday morning. The car had been parked near the mobile home that their mother, Amy Lynn Cooper, was renting.

Jay Burrus, director of the Dare County Department of Social Services, said Cooper's two oldest children were under the custody of social services at the time. Four-year-old Kendrick and Amariyah had been placed by the court with their mother, he said. Kassandra, he said, was in her mother's custody.

Social services in Currituck County has been asked to investigate the deaths because of a conflict of interest in Dare, Burrus said. The state also is investigating, he said.

Burrus said he could not comment on the circumstances that had led to social services' involvement with the family. Social services has set up a "protection plan" for the 4-year-old with relatives in Dare County, he said.

"In general, children come into our custody because of abuse, neglect or dependencies," he said. "In these kinds of cases, we make recommendations to the court on placement, but the courts make the decisions on placement."

The Dare social services Web site says dependency means a child needs help or placement because there is no parent or guardian or because a parent or guardian is unable to provide care and there is no other arrangement available.

The children have been with their mother most of the time in recent months, Burrus said. He could not comment on the involvement of the father, Shawn Daniels, with the children, he said.

It took deputies about 15 minutes to find the children in the unlocked car after arriving at the scene at 3:06 p.m. Friday, Godley said. The vehicle was parked within 50 feet of their mobile home.

Cooper told police that the children had been missing about 20 minutes, Godley said. She said that she remembered all three children last being with her at about 12:45 p.m., he said. He said it is not clear what was going on before police were called at 2:50 p.m.

The children had apparently gone outside to play, and when Cooper asked the 4-year-old where the other two children were, he responded that they were either "inside the pool" or "around the pool," Godley said.

Godley said there was a small wading pool by the trailer, but police learned later that there was an above-ground pool in the neighborhood. The Croatan Sound also is nearby.

Cooper and her children had recently moved to the neighborhood.

A service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Free Grace Church of Christ Disciples of Christ in Manteo.

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com