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Searching for answers three years later
A case of abuse and neglect led to four year-old Landon Payne's death just over three years ago.
Friday night we sat down with Landon's father, Clinton Payne, to hear his side of the story after returning to Kearney this week. Saturday night, News 5's Katie Gauthier, talked with Payne regarding the legality surrounding the case. Prosecutors say for months Landon Payne was tortured and beaten at the hands of his aunt Sharon Turnell, her husband Charles and their daughter's ex-husband Dustin Scoville. But Clinton, who was serving time in jail during the ordeal, says some of the abuse was reported. "Neighbors called, what were there 59 calls in two years and never any investigation," said Payne. In fact, Payne says he has seen paperwork that was filed by the Department of Health and Human Services with his son's name on it. "And these two papers cite both Sharon and Charles for child abuse, involving my son and this was a month before this all happened," Payne said. "But still there was no investigation." Which is why Payne is taking matters into his own hands and filed a claim against the state. "It just says that because of their inaction and given a number of times that abuse was reported by law enforcement and school officials, neighbors, the Department of Health and Human Services were negligent in not removing the kids or investigating what took place," Payne explained. And Payne is also upset about the lack of information he says he's been given. "You know there's so many things that I haven't been told about," Payne said. "The County Attorneys in Minden haven't been forthcoming with the information they told me that I could have, like Landon's death certificate and the court records, autopsy reports and things of that nature." He says the state claims board has not responded to the claim, but that his attorneys will be sending a letter of demand to the State Department of Health and Human Services. The Department of Health and Human Services in Nebraska is facing a one million dollar lawsuit dealing with Landon's death. |
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