BERTIE COUNTY, N.C. — A two-year-old child, Jamie Drain, died on December 2, 2024. Officials in Bertie County, North Carolina, have now ruled her death a homicide.

State officials said the child's death was a deciding factor in the state's takeover of Bertie County's child welfare services at the county's Department of Social Services (BCDSS).

According to a newly released autopsy report, Jamie Drain died at age two from severe blunt force trauma. Jamie's father, Donta Valentine, said he believed she died on the day BCDSS was supposed to make sure she was in safe hands.

It's a day Valentine said he will never forget.

“That day in December was life-changing," said Valentine.

He said the child was with her mother and a Bertie County caseworker that day. He said he had previously repor

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