BERTIE COUNTY, N.C. (WITN/Gray News) – A grand jury has indicted a North Carolina mother for murder in the death of her toddler, according to authorities.
Jamie Drain died on Dec. 2, 2024, at a home on Jack Branch Road, outside of Lewiston Woodville.
An autopsy released last month said the 2-year-old had been returned to her mother after being taken into custody following a child abuse case.
On Monday, a grand jury indicted Raja Drain with murder and felony abuse, inflicting serious bodily injury.
The autopsy said the mother was in the kitchen cooking while her daughter was playing.
The mother then heard a loud “thud,” and she turned around to find the girl had fallen face-first, striking her forehead, according to the document.
However, the autopsy said the toddler had “extensive head trauma with scalp contusions, face contusions, and hemispheric acute subdural hemorrhage with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage.”
The autopsy said the cause of death was blunt force trauma of the head, and the manner of death was ruled as homicide.
The Department of Health and Human Services took over child welfare services in the county on Aug. 15, citing the child’s death. It is the second time in three years that the state has come in and taken over the county operations.