Two-year-old Locklynn’s father tucked her into bed Nov. 18, and her mother returned home late from her job at a Sonic Drive-In. The mother heard breathing noises coming from her daughter’s bedroom, and went in to check when she heard what sounded like bouncing. The dog, Ella, was covered in blood. The little girl was dead.
Police arrived to a home in disarray.
It smelled of animal feces and urine, a detective described in court. There was old food, pots and pans, trash and clothing stacked on the floor. But toddler clothes hung neatly on hangers in Locklynn’s bedroom closet, and childproof safety covers wrapped the doorknobs.
There were four dogs, each in a crate except Ella, a pitbull whose ribs and hip bones stuck out. Koda, a Husky mix, was on the thin side, an animal welfare officer testified. There was a black-and-white pitbull mix, a male, in a kennel with a comforter. The puppy, Hazel, had a scar across its face. The wound hadn’t been stitched and was healing on its own. They all had fleas.
Investigators looked for dog food in the house, but couldn’t find any. The mother later told them she only feeds the dogs outside, once a day, and they eat until they’re full. They drink from a five-gallon bucket, also outside.
There were two bearded dragons and a pet rat in the home. The bearded dragons had metabolic bone disease, which is caused by a lack of vitamin D, calcium and proper lighting. The only pet food investigators found was for the rat, but it was crawling with roaches.
The investigation into Locklynn’s death revealed warning signs that, had they been heeded, might have saved Locklynn’s life. Whether her parents, state child welfare workers or medical personnel shoulder the blame depends on who you ask.
Two weeks earlier, Locklynn arrived at an Oklahoma City hospital, both ears bleeding. There were cuts and puncture wounds on her right ear, and her left ear was partially severed. Doctors stitched her up, and the hospital contacted child welfare.
Lambert suspected that Ella, the pitbull, caused the injuries. But the physician treating Locklynn didn’t think it was the dog. Instead, he suggested it was the girl’s bed, according to Department of Human Services records.
A caseworker visited the family’s house after the injury. In keeping with the doctor’s conclusion, they focused on the girl’s bed, and told the parents to place the mattress on the floor so she couldn’t cut her ears again, said Betty Crain, Locklynn’s grandmother.
“They saw the dogs, but they didn’t say anything about the dogs,” Crain said. “They weren’t worried about the dogs.”
Complying with the caseworker’s instructions, the parents removed the bed frame, toys and hangers from Locklynn’s room, but not the dog, records show.
Locklynn’s death was ruled an accident; Ella had attacked and killed her. But prosecutors charged the girl’s parents, Darci Lambert, 25, and Jordan McGuire, 34, with murder, alleging they knew the dog was dangerous and malnourished, yet kept it in the bedroom with their daughter.
DHS laid blame on the caseworker’s supervisor, Tara Diggs, who they fired over the girl’s death. Diggs contested her firing and claims she was scapegoated to shield the agency from accountability for systemic failures. At the time of Locklynn’s death, child welfare workers juggled unmanageable caseloads and mandatory furloughs.
The doctor, Curtis Knoles, and a spokesperson for OU Children’s Hospital, declined to comment.
Much of what is known about what led up to Locklynn’s death comes from DHS records obtained by Oklahoma Watch and court testimony in the parents’ March 11 preliminary hearing, which is scheduled to continue May 7.
A History of DHS Involvement
On Oct. 17, a couple of weeks into a federal government shutdown, DHS moved a backlog of 55 cases to supervisor Diggs’ unit, which was already managing nearly 100 other cases, according to Diggs’ statement to the state’s civil service division, which handles dispute resolution for state agencies and employees.
Among the cases was Locklynn McGuire’s.
DHS had investigated Locklynn’s mother before. The agency removed a child from her custody in 2017 due to neglect and threat of harm, records show. Lambert was 16 at the time.
When Lambert gave birth to a baby in 2020, DHS investigated again. They were concerned because the newborn lost weight after birth.
Lambert told the agency she was following the doctor’s recommendations, and, when the baby’s weight was no longer a problem, DHS closed the case.
The baby, a little boy named Hugh, died at 3 months old, according to an obituary. The baby and his father had been sleeping on a couch when the father (who is not McGuire) woke up on top of the baby. Authorities ruled the death accidental.
When Diggs received Locklynn’s file, it was to investigate a report that Locklynn had been exposed to marijuana. Locklynn’s parents took her to the hospital because she was having a hard time staying awake. They worried she had ingested marijuana edibles.
DHS assigned caseworker Naciska Gilmore, who visited the family’s home on Nov. 3, records show. Lambert made statements that concerned DHS about wanting to get a medical marijuana card for Locklynn and exposing her to marijuana smoke, something the mother later denied.
After the parents purchased a lockbox for their edibles, Gilmore reported no ongoing safety or parenting concerns. Diggs directed the caseworker to review the girl’s medical records, but she never did, according to DHS records.
By this time, the agency was juggling staff furloughs because of the government shutdown. Child protection employees reduced their schedules to 32 hours per week.
And then the agency was called to investigate Locklynn’s injured ears.
It Couldn’t be the Dog
Lambert put Locklynn to bed and ran to the store. When she returned, she heard Locklynn crying in her bedroom. Blood covered the girl’s ears, and Lambert called 911.
At OU Children’s Hospital, Lambert told the doctors she suspected one of their four dogs, a pitbull named Ella, had bitten their daughter. Ella slept in the bedroom with Locklynn and had since Locklynn was a baby.
Lambert wanted to put the dog down, according to court testimony from a doctor consulted that night and from an Oklahoma City Police detective.
But doctors told Lambert not to euthanize the dog because they didn’t think the dog caused the girl’s injuries, the detective recalled Lambert saying during questioning.
The cut was too perfectly straight, Crain, Locklynn’s grandmother recalled, like a folded piece of paper torn in half.
“You have to believe what the doctors tell you,” Crain said. “If they say it’s not a dog bite, it’s not a dog bite.”
The doctor, instead, offered a somewhat implausible explanation: bed springs. That is mentioned in a review of Locklynn’s death, based on DHS records, released April 9 by the Office of Juvenile System Oversight.
It’s absent from the arrest warrants and charges against Lambert and McGuire.
And Locklynn’s medical records don’t point to the bed springs, but they don’t attribute her injuries to a dog bite, either, according to a doctor who testified during the parents’ preliminary hearing. That doctor said he did believe the girl was bitten by a dog, but he only consulted with Locklynn’s doctor that night and wasn’t treating her. Oklahoma Watch has not been able to review Locklynn’s medical records.
The caseworker didn’t ask Locklynn what happened. But they did ask her brother, who lives with relatives. He said he saw Ella hurt Locklynn’s ears, but couldn’t elaborate, DHS records show.
What isn’t in dispute: neither DHS nor the hospital reported Locklynn’s injuries as an animal bite, which medical staff are required to do within 24 hours according to the Oklahoma City municipal code.
Had they reported the bite, animal welfare workers likely would have required the dog to be quarantined for 10 days at home if vaccinated for rabies, or at the city shelter if not.
Lambert and McGuire did separate Locklynn and Ella for more than a week while Locklynn’s ears healed. The night before the fatal attack, the parents moved Locklynn back to her own room, with the mattress on the floor.
The Fallout
Unbeknownst to Diggs, the DHS supervisor, a second caseworker had visited the girl’s home and returned to report there was knee-deep trash and four dogs.
Still, DHS didn’t take the girl into emergency protective custody or report the dogs.
Diggs found out during a staff meeting that Locklynn had been killed, records show.
DHS initiated an internal investigation that found serious missteps, according to Diggs’ termination notice dated Feb. 2. Had she followed agency policies and best practices, the agency would have been able to intervene before Locklynn died, the agency found.
“You failed to provide adequate supervisory oversight and ensure the safety of a vulnerable child,” the notice reads.
The agency said Diggs should have followed up with the caseworker to ensure she obtained professional and medical consultations, conducted a comprehensive safety assessment, reviewed the family’s prior child welfare history, and identified active safety threats to the child.
Diggs, in a complaint contesting her firing, pointed the finger at Gilmore, the caseworker, who left the agency voluntarily shortly after Locklynn’s death. Diggs also blamed staff shortages, unmanageable caseloads, and mandatory furloughing of child welfare specialists.
Diggs is asking to be reinstated. When reached by phone, Diggs declined to comment based on her attorney’s advice. Gilmore did not return multiple calls for comment.
DHS, through agency spokeswoman Nazarene Harris, declined an interview.
After reviewing details of the case, prosecutors upgraded the charges against Lambert and McGuire to murder in the first degree, which requires deliberate intention to kill. They’re being held at the Oklahoma County Detention Center. Bail was set at $1 million each.
“This is an unspeakably tragic case,” Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna said in a Dec. 8 press release announcing the charges. “Lambert and McGuire’s complete disregard for the health, safety, and welfare of their child, and their failure to protect her despite knowing she was at risk, led to her death.”
Investigators pointed to the round toddler locks on Locklynn’s door as evidence that they placed her in danger, as well as keeping Ella uncaged in her room. The parents are also charged with animal cruelty based on the condition of the animals.
Locklynn wasn’t abused or mistreated, and her family loved her, Crain, McGuire’s mother and Locklynn’s grandmother, said.
“They’re not monsters,” Crain said about Locklynn’s parents. “They’re not dope addicts. They weren’t high on meth or whatever. They were just working parents, and a stupid mistake was made, and we lost the best little thing that ever happened to us.”
Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.
