NBC 17

Mother Of Poisoned Girl Says She Tried To Regain Custody

10:25 am EDT May 24, 2004

A woman whose daughter died of insecticide poisoning in the care of her legal guardian says judges refused four times in the past five years to return custody to her.

The courts terminated the parental rights of Nicole Allen last May, three months before 7-year-old Kayla Allen died after ingesting a poison used to kill flies, Allen said.

Carolyn Ann Futrell, Kayla's guardian, was arrested last week after a nine-month investigation and charged with murder and felony abuse of Kayla, the niece of her former husband. Futrell is in the Onslow County jail with no bond allowed.

Allen, 26, didn't explain why she lost her parental rights. She previously said that she gave custody of Kayla to her brother and Futrell three years ago because she was a single parent. Her brother and Futrell later divorced.

Allen's criminal record in North Carolina record lists only an arrest for driving while impaired that occurred in June, after she lost rights to Kayla. Allen said she asked her brother in 1998 to take Kayla while she tried to find another job and their own place to live.

Allen and other members of her family say they began reporting abuse of Kayla to authorities soon after the girl moved to Futrell's home. The last time Allen saw her daughter was in September 2002.

Allen's sister, Heather Baker of Trenton, Mich., said she and her husband also tried to remove Kayla from Futrell's home because they suspected abuse.

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