By admin 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The uncle of Dominique Moody says he is “ecstatic” about Mecklenburg County officials being called to testify before the North Carolina House Oversight Committee about potential failures and signs of abuse that were missed before the murder of the 6-year-old in December 2025.
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“The system has blood on its hands,” said J. Vernon Peterson, Moody’s distant uncle. “Were it not for the system and were it not for the situation that she was in, she’d be here today.”
At the time of her death, Moody, who was a foster child, weighed only 27 pounds and was covered in wounds. Three women caretakers allegedly neglected and abused the child at a home on Gwynne Hill Road in east Charlotte for months.
The women, including one of whom is Moody’s biological aunt, have been charged with murder in Mecklenburg County.
“What they did to this child was unconscionable,” said Peterson.
On June 4, County Manager Mike Bryant, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Estella Patterson, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, Interim DSS Director Leticia Loadholt, and DHHS Division Director Lisa Cauley will testify before committee members in Raleigh.
State Rep. Allen Chesser, who represents Nash County in the North Carolina House, will chair the hearing next month.
“We know that when it comes to protecting our children, time is not on our side,” said Chesser. “We must act quickly, or there will be more victims. There will be more children that fall to tragedy.”
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Chesser said because of legal concerns and a temporary restraining order, the hearing will not discuss the criminal investigation into Moody’s murder to not “jeopardize” any investigation or prosecution.
“We’re focused on the administrative investigation that occurred around and following the death of Miss Moody,” said Chesser.
Chesser said the hearing will not be political in nature but will focus on getting answers and holding the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services (DSS) accountable for any “failures” to uncover ongoing abuse of Moody before her death.
“We just need information so that we can make sure that there is not a large or systematic failure that we can address on a statewide level,” said Chesser.
A recent investigation into Moody’s death, launched by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, found multiple “violations” by DSS and is requiring Mecklenburg County to develop a corrective action plan to address those violations.
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